The Choice
by reens
Summary: Before leading the Viking warriors on a blind mission to Helheim's Gate, Stoick takes desperate measures to secure his son's future. Forcing Hiccup into marriage might be just the thing. Cover image courtesy of IvanGriscenko on deviantart.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train your Dragon.

**Chapter One**

It all started with his mother's death.

Well, maybe it didn't, but Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third had always thought of his mother's death as the turning point of his life – a turn for the worse. Before the illness took Valhallarama, he had at least been… normal. It was after her death that his apparent un-Vikingness began to show.

He still had vague memories of his childhood during happier times. Games with his cousin Snotlout, and Tuffnut and Fishlegs. Sharing toys with Astrid and Ruffnut. Playing at the forge, fascinated by the metal and weapons and fire. Getting under Gobber's foot.

Then his mother had died. And suddenly he was no longer a child. As he grew, so did the expectations; he was the only son of Stoick the Vast – the best chief the Vikings of Berk could remember ever having. And when the expectations came, the village began to find him wanting.

In all aspects.

So yeah, Hiccup sort of thought if his mother hadn't died, he wouldn't have failed so badly in all his… endeavors.

Most of Hiccup's problems centered on Berk's giant pests – dragons. Of course there was the fact that he was too skinny, too little. But mostly his problems centered on dragons.

Vikings of Berk killed dragons. A person's status, wealth, standing, all depended on killing dragons. The act brought honor and respect and… and _everything_.

Hiccup never managed to kill any. That was okay, since most teenagers his age hadn't started dragon training yet and had never killed a dragon either. What he did manage was to cause further trouble for his father and his tribe during every dragon heist with his desire to help.

Like now, for example.

He stood and watched the dragons carrying off what appeared to be at least half of the provisions for winter. He could feel his father's glare on his neck, and hear the whispers of the tribe as the warriors started to gather around.

Hiccup the Useless strikes again. He could almost hear it.

'Okay. But I hit a Night Fury,' he managed to get out before his father grabbed him.

'Not like the last few times, Dad! I mean I really actually hit it! You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot…'

Then Stoick began to yell and Hiccup shut up. There was another thing that had changed after Valhallarama's death. Hiccup and Stoick never seemed to be able to communicate well anymore.

He could hear the angry whispers of the crowd, the sniggers; could see the frustrated glares. Could feel the disappointment radiating from his father.

Gobber smacked him on the head.

'I've never seen anyone mess up that badly,' Snotlout said gleefully. 'That helped!'

'Thank you. Thank you. I was trying, so…' he caught sight of Astrid behind the rest of the gang and felt the shame creeping up his neck.

Astrid. Blond, blue-eyed, serious Astrid. She was the most beautiful girl on the island, and the owner of the only non-hideous name Hiccup knew. And it seemed that he had loved her forever.

What she felt for him though, he had no idea. It could be hatred, resentment, resignation, scorn… or all those altogether.

The fact that she never made fun of him like the others didn't exactly cheer him up. It just meant he was beneath her notice.

But he _had _hit the Night Fury, Hiccup told himself firmly. He would find it, kill it, and bring the evidence back to his father. The whole tribe would honor him then.

Then maybe he would have a chance with Astrid.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much for the reviews! English isn't my first language, so please tell me when I make mistakes. :)

As mentioned, I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

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**Chapter Two**

Hiccup was always sent home whenever he disgraced himself, always with Gobber following him to make sure he got there. He had long ago figured out a way to sneak away – through the backdoor.

Astrid knew this; she had seen him do it at least five times. It never failed to surprise her that none of the grownups ever considered the backdoor an escape route. It was right there and so obvious... or maybe that was exactly why no one noticed. Perhaps adult brains functioned differently from teenagers'; the simpler something was, the harder it was for them to comprehend.

Anyway, as Astrid normally didn't care what other people do, she didn't think to inform anyone that Hiccup had just escaped into the forest again. Besides, the further Hiccup went, the less trouble he would cause in the village. So it was a good thing he left.

With a sigh she dodged Snotlout's latest attempt to ask her out, by suggesting they did something more productive. 'Come on, you guys, let's get moving. We've got to help with the cleanup,'

'I just wanna go back to bed,' Tuffnut announced with a yawn.

'I'm not the least bit tired. I'll help,' Snotlout said enthusiastically, shoving Tuffnut aside, who knocked into Ruffnut; and the next second all three were pushing and shoving each other. Fishlegs, never one for fights, snuck away instantly.

Astrid liked being part of the little group of teenagers. But the others could be really immature sometimes. They didn't take things seriously enough for Astrid. She rolled her eyes and left them to it.

In the village plaza, with Stoick gone, the angry whispers had broken out into rants.

'What was the boy thinking?' a woman raved as she dragged a wooden cart behind her and heaved debris into it in shovelfuls. 'Stoick should just tie him up and leave him in a cave during the next attack,'

'Claims he shot down a Night Fury. By Thor! If he did, I'd eat my helmet!'

'He was just trying to help,' Astrid's mother said.

'He's always trying to help!' snapped a man, bent double under a fallen beam. 'He should have learned by now to stop trying!'

'Stoick's too lenient with the boy!'

'Maybe it would've been better if he'd been carried off!'

That was a little harsh. Sensing that her mother was about to retort, Astrid laid a hand on her mother's arm. 'Mum. Don't,'

Her mother was about the only Viking Astrid knew who never spoke ill of Hiccup. Astrid knew that Hiccup's mother and her own had been great friends. Maybe that was why. Astrid had like Valhallarama, who had been a surrogate aunt; but that didn't stop her from resenting Hiccup.

He was always trying to prove himself, dragging everyone into trouble in the process; and then leaving everyone to clean up his mess. And he _never learned his lesson_.

He hadn't always been that bad. Astrid remembered him as a generous boy, very imaginative, very cheerful; before Valhallarama died and Hiccup stopped coming around to the Hofferson house.

He had been a good friend, and had made her laugh. He had always been skinny though, and she remembered smacking Snotlout and Tuffnut around whenever they bullied Hiccup. Then Hiccup had begun trying to compensate for his lack of strength with his surplus of brain – and the disasters started.

It was as if he was _trying _to help the dragons raid Berk.

She missed the old Hiccup; and she was tired, tired, _tired_ of cleaning up after the new one.

She pushed aside a fallen beam – they would have to rebuild the entire house for the Hatchet family - and came face-to-face with a Terrible Terror pulling gamely at a bucket of fish several times its size. Astrid grabbed her axe and flung it. The Terror got away just in time, leaving the bucket of fish, and a few green scales stuck under the axe's blade.

'Well done, Astrid!' boomed a voice.

She looked up to see Stoick the Vast peering down at her. 'Um. Thank you…' she said, but the chief had already turned away to talk to her mother.

Argh. Why hadn't she hit that Terror?

Astrid hated dragons. Her life had been turned upside down ever since her father was paralyzed by one during a particularly bad dragon heist six years ago. He had hovered between life and death for weeks; by the time he had awakened, he no longer had the use of his legs, and eight-year-old Astrid was no longer a child.

She had taken on the aspirations and responsibilities of an adult at age eight.

If she had killed that Terror, she'd have convinced the chief she was ready for dragon training, and would be allowed into the training ring. She would be the best dragon fighter ever. Everyone would know just how good she was when the time came.

Then she would avenge her father. Every dragon she would kill would be for him.

She retrieved her axe and went back to the cleaning; and put Hiccup Haddock completely out of her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

I based this chapter on the film and one of the deleted scenes. I've got most of the story planned out now and it's turning out to be a sort of plot/character study blend. Toothless, sadly, doesn't appear to be a main character here.

Thanks for the reviews.

I do not own HTTYD.

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**Chapter Three**

Snotlout Jorgenson had a crush on the hottest girl on the island. When asked why, the answer would be Astrid Hofferson was _hot_, fierce, great with her weapon, and did he mention she was _hot_? She was the girl for him, no question about that. No one else deserved her anyway. The other boys their age simply couldn't measure up to Snotlout. Fishlegs was fat and a geek; his cousin Hiccup… well, he was Hiccup, enough said. The only competition he might have was Tuffnut, but he outweighed Tuffnut, and definitely outranked him.

For Snotlout was the next-in-line for Stoick's position – everyone knew that. Because Hiccup certainly would not be picked as the next chief.

Astrid couldn't do any better than Snotlout. Right now she was playing hard to get, but Snotlout knew she knew how big a catch he was. The only thing that might turn her off was the fact that he was cousin to Hiccup the Useless.

Why did Hiccup have to ruin everything?

Snotlout was glad he looked nothing like Hiccup. Astrid might not remember he and Hiccup were related after all. He was so muscular, and Hiccup was… not. Maybe he should invent a new nickname for his cousin; Hiccup the Toothpick. Now that was a good one.

He sniggered to himself as he made his way back to his house. The chief had his house built on the top of the hill, overlooking the entire village. The next highest house was the Jorgenson house. One day, Snotlout thought gleefully, the highest house would be his.

He was still grinning when he entered the house and saw his father sitting at the table, sorting through his weapons. 'Hey Dad. That was some heist, huh?'

'Hey son. Yes it was. I have to head back out for a meeting at the Great Hall, Stoick's calling for all the warriors,' Spitelout said absently. 'Here. Swing by the forge and have these fixed,' he dropped an armful of bended, burned, melted weapons into Snotlout's arms. Then he aimed a hard look at his son. 'And no making fun of Hiccup while you're there,'

'Aw Dad. You take the fun out of everything. Besides, what else is Hiccup good for, apart from being make fun of?' Snotlout said.

'You'd regret it when Hiccup becomes chief,' Spitelout said.

'Uh please Dad. Hiccup won't be chief if everyone on the island died and he was the last person alive,' Snotlout snorted.

'Stoick would do anything he could to make Hiccup chief, son,' Spitelout told him. 'The boy is weak, and a troublemaker. But at least he has brains. Who knows, with the proper training and the weight of responsibilities, Hiccup might actually be able to lead,'

'Yeah, I can see him kill dragons from inside the forge, Dad,' Snotlout called back as he backed out of the front door and turned to head for the forge. He didn't like it whenever anyone mentioned Hiccup's brain. His cousin's brain was out of this world – in the literal sense, as far as Snotlout was concerned; filled with alien stuff like _knowledge,_ _possibilities_ and _imagination_. Normal Vikings didn't need those things weighing down their heads.

The only other person who seemed to actually understood Hiccup's brain was Fishlegs. Which was why Snotlout's best friend was Tuffnut.

Astrid though, seemed to appreciate Hiccup's literally-out-of-this-world brain and comments. On the rare occasions they had hung out together, Snotlout had seen Astrid being amused by Hiccup's jokes. At least Snotlout thought they were jokes; he didn't understand why Astrid had thought them funny.

His cousin was not in the forge. Snotlout shouted for him a few times before remembering the chief had sent his useless cousin to the chieftain's house. Well, he supposed the weapons could wait. He dumped the armful on a workbench and searched for something to leave a note on. Snotlout _could _read, he had learnt his runes just like everyone else. But he still sweated over the note-writing. He couldn't wait to get into dragon training and start killing dragons. Then maybe he would never need to read and write anymore.

He came out of the forge, saw his father walking up the hill to the Great Hall, and quickly followed him. It was the perfect opportunity. The only times Astrid seemed to appreciate Snotlout was when he snuck information he had overheard back to the gang. There was a spot outside the double doors of the Great Hall, behind one of the statues, where a crack in the wood allowed sound to travel through.

He had never told anyone about that crack. No one would sneak information to Astrid besides him.

'Scouts! What are the reports?' he could hear Stoick's voice from inside, and settled back against the back of the statue to listen.

'Another two ships lost, Stoick, and still no sign of them dragons,' reported someone.

'They have to be there somewhere. Helheim's Gate is the closest place they could be roosting,' said Stoick.

'You can't be sure of that,' shouted a man.

'They're close, I tell you, close enough to make our island their regular hunting ground,' Stoick boomed. 'We've been raided _four _times this season, and the island's been picked clean; at this rate we won't have enough food to last the winter,'

'Not that your boy's helping matters, eh Stoick?' mocked a voice Snotlout recognized as Mildew the Unpleasant. Murmurs grew louder at this, until Gobber the Belch roared for them to be quiet.

'We cannot afford another raid. We need another search, one more time, before the ice sets in. Either we'll finish the devils, or they'll finish us,' Stoick boomed.

'How are we going to do it? We're low on ships, Stoick, and we're low on warriors, too,'

'Pull the men in from the defenses,' Stoick said.

'What about the village, then?' shouted a woman, 'Our children will be unprotected!'

'We'll train some new recruits,' Stoick said determinedly.

'Those ships seldom come back, Stoick,' Snotlout's father said.

'We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?' Stoick said. There was a wave of uneasy murmurs and a short pause. 'Alright,' Stoick said, 'Those who stay will look after Hiccup,' At once a chorus of 'I'm with you Stoick!' rose from the warriors.

Snotlout had outdone himself this time. This was big news. The others would be thrilled to know that they would be starting dragon training soon. Of course, he would have to warn the Thorston twins and Fishlegs that their parents would be leaving for Helheim's Gate during the next search. His own father would be leaving too. With a mixture of dread and excitement, he went to find the others.


	4. Chapter 4

So I've Googled Viking marriage and found that they got married as early as 14. Which is good news for me because Hiccup is 14 in this story...

Enter Stoick and his brilliant plan.

Thank you for reviewing. And I do not own HTTYD.

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**Chapter Four**

The Night Fury was smaller than Hiccup had imagined. In his mind he had equated the reptile's size with its ability to cause massive damage. The real thing however, was smaller than an average Nadder or Nightmare, though longer than a Gronkle.

It was pure black, had almost no neck, huge bat-like wings and a long tail. It also had large terrified eyes that stared and stared when he had pointed his knife at it.

And because of the eyes, he had let it go.

For a moment he had been pinned to the ground and thought he would die. Then the Night Fury flew off without harming him, and he had been too faint with relief to think anything. After that, as he made his way back to the village, legs still shaking, a part of him regretted letting the dragon go.

He himself had been too chicken to plunge the knife in, but he could have gone back to get his father, or Gobber – who was easily more negotiable. Both would kill the Night Fury for him. And he would still be recognized as the one who brought down the mighty beast. People would stop thinking his attempts at helping were disasters in the making. He might not have the stomach to kill dragons, but he would _invent _things to help. He had the brains, the patience. He could make it so much easier and _safer_ for everyone, and everyone would know it and would hold his inventions in high regard.

Now he had single-handedly destroyed his own future in the village.

Well, at least he wasn't any worse off than when he had started out in the first place.

Odin, he disappointed himself. He had actually felt _sorry _for the dragon. Unforgivable.

No wonder his father was so frustrated with him. The only son, a weakling, a screw-up, a burden for the tribe. How could Hiccup be chief when Stoick stepped down?

Snotlout could be chief, Hiccup thought miserably. His cousin wasn't the brightest Viking, and _could _destroy the tribe with one brainless order; but at least they would go out in a glorious _bang_. The _bang _could be literal, too.

He could spend the rest of his life at the forge; he was good at being a blacksmith. And he would die a lonely bachelor like the dreaded Mildew, whose antagonistic nature earned him a house on the other side of the mountain, far away from the village.

It was with his depressing thoughts that Hiccup dragged his feet up the steps to his house. He noticed the flickering of a fire in the hearth, and tried to walk more quietly. He had no desire to face his father again that day.

'Hiccup,' Stoick called. Caught, halfway up the stairs to his room, Hiccup sighed and clambered back down.

'I need to speak with you,' Stoick said.

That's good, Dad, ''cause I need to speak with you too…' Hiccup began, but Stoick cut him off.

'You're getting married,'

This was unexpected. Very much so.

For a moment, there was only the crackling sound of the fire.

'What?' Hiccup gasped.

Stoick began to speak very fast, as though wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. 'You're getting married, before we leave on our search for the dragon's nest. And since we need to leave before the ice sets in, the wedding will be this Frigg's Day,'

What? _What_? Wasn't he supposed to die a lonely bachelor? Hiccup thought crazily. 'Dad! I'm only fourteen!'

'I married your mother when I was your age,' Stoick ground out.

_Liar_. 'You married Mum when you were sixteen. _And _you had had _months_ to prepare, not four _days_!'

Stoick ignored this. 'You are the son of a chief. You know this is how marriages work,'

The house was revolving dizzily around him. He felt like he was falling into an abyss and there was no hope of escape. More frighteningly, there was a feeling in his throat that threatened tears. That would really complete his humiliation.

'Who's the lucky girl?' his voice dripped sarcasm that hid the panic. It had to be a girl from one of the neighboring islands, the daughter of some unsuspecting family who had no idea what a screw-up Hiccup was. Well, they were about to find out.

'Astrid Hofferson,' said Stoick.

The bottom appeared in the abyss, and Hiccup landed with an unpleasant _splat_! He stared at his father in horror.

'She's a fine lass,' Stoick said defensively, 'what do you have against her?'

'Astrid won't… her family won't…' Hiccup babbled.

'Talked to her parents today,' Stoick said matter-of-factly. 'They accepted the contract,'

'Contract?' Hiccup gulped. 'Her parents? What about Astrid? She hates me! Come on Dad! This is _Astrid_! She won't come near me if she was on fire and I had the last bucket of water in town!'

'It's your duty to make the marriage work,' Stoick said.

Marriage. To Astrid. It had been a favorite and impractical daydream. Hiccup felt sick.

'Why would… how could… Astrid has so much potential! _Why _would her parents let her marry _me_?' Astrid the Brave and Hiccup the Useless? It was not happening.

'I made her parents an offer they couldn't refuse,' Stoick said shortly.

'You made them an offer,' something cold slithered up Hiccup's spine. 'What offer?'

'I offered to supply all three parts of the wedding gift,' Stoick said. Maybe it was guilt, but he refused to meet his son's eyes.

The wedding gift was usually divided into three parts; two were supplied by the groom's family, and one – the dowry - by the bride's family. Hiccup gawped. His father had offered to supply Astrid with a dowry.

Years before, in a raid, Astrid's father had escaped with his life and no feeling in his legs. The Hofferson household had put a lot into taking care of a man who could no longer walk or provide for his family. So Astrid's family was very, very poor, Hiccup knew it. Apparently, so did Stoick.

'Way to go, Dad,' Hiccup said in disbelief, 'you managed to buy _her _and sell _me_, all in one go!'

'There is no price I would not pay to guarantee your safety!' Stoick snarled. In the subsequent silence that followed, the huge man rubbed his forehead.

'We're leaving in a week. I'm taking most of the men in the defenses with me. You know the chances of our returning from Helheim's Gate. If I don't come back…'

'But you'd be back,' Hiccup gulped.

'Probably. But if I _don't_, at least I'd know you'd have a chance. You… _this_,' he gestured impatiently to all of Hiccup, 'will at least survive with Astrid as your wife. By Thor, the whole _village _would have a chance when you're chief, with the Hofferson girl beside you,'

He was not hearing this, Hiccup thought wildly. He had never thought his father would think that far into the future. Weren't all conventional Vikings the live-the-moment sort?

'Snotlout could be chief,' he said lamely.

Stoick snorted. 'Your cousin may have the potential to be a great warrior, but he doesn't have enough brains to fill the skull of a Terrible Terror,'

So Hiccup wasn't the only one who thought Snotlout a little lacking in the brain department. And he had thought nothing else would surprise him tonight.

'Now you understand why you are to be married so soon,' Stoick said shortly.

Oh yes he understood why. And he would also understand if Astrid decided to murder him tomorrow morning.

He should protest wildly, he should flat out refuse to get married; but his brain was on information overload and couldn't seem to form a coherent thought.

'And there's another thing. You're getting your wish. Dragon training. You start tomorrow. We'll make time for wedding preparations,' Stoick dropped an axe into Hiccup's hands. 'You would need this,'

Hiccup waited until his father had gone upstairs before collapsing into the nearest chair and putting his face in his hands.


	5. Chapter 5

In which Ruffnut was uncharacteristically kind.

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**Chapter Five**

Astrid ran up the hill to the cliff, eyes stinging. Beard of Thor, she had not cried since the day the healer declared her father would live, so many years ago; and now she could feel the tears rising in her throat.

Stupid Hiccup. She _hated him hated him hated him hated_...

She flung her axe deep into the ground and sat with her back against a boulder, hugging her knees to her chest.

Her future, so bright, so promising, was gone.

'We would never get a chance like this one again, Astrid,' her mother had pleaded with her to understand, 'You know as well as I do that we can never provide a dowry for you. Stoick's offer is more than generous. You would never marry if you turn this chance down,'

And her little brothers would never marry too, for they would never be able to provide wedding gifts. Her mother had not mentioned this, but Astrid _knew_. If… _if _she married Hiccup, all the Hofferson financial problems would be solved.

'Hiccup is a good boy, Astrid. He'll do right by you,' her mother had pleaded.

And her father, once so strong, so big, a great warrior; now held prisoner by any chair he was put into; looked at her with guilt in his eyes.

'At least it isn't Snotlout,' she had managed to say. She would have said anything to keep her father from blaming himself.

So now she was betrothed. She was getting married. To Hiccup the Useless, Hiccup the Screw-up.

Great Odin, she was going to cry after all.

'Astrid?' said a voice.

She stiffened, and rubbed away the tear that escaped. 'Go away, Ruff,'

Ruffnut Thorston was the only other girl Viking in her age group. Surrounded by boys, the girls naturally bonded. But Astrid did not want to let Ruffnut know about her and… Hiccup.

Of course, by tomorrow, everyone in the tribe would know.

'Yeah. When has that ever worked on me?' Ruffnut sneered, coming around the boulder to sit by Astrid. 'Saw you from my window, and I thought I should come see if you need help. I can help push you into the sea, or help you if you're pushing someone else into the sea,' She caught sight of Astrid's face, and blanched. 'Are you _crying_?'

Astrid groaned. 'Go away. Leave me alone,'

She could tell that it was exactly what Ruffnut wanted to do. Tears were not something any Viking was comfortable dealing with. But Ruffnut was friend enough – and curious enough – to stay.

'Did… did something happen to someone in your family?' she asked cautiously. Nothing else would touch Astrid's emotions like this.

_Yeah, my father was paralyzed in a raid, so we don't have much income, and we have to take care of him, so now we're dirt poor, and to get out of our financial crisis, I'm selling my future._

'I'm getting married,' she said dully, 'This Frigg's Day,'

'What?' Ruffnut yelped. 'When did that happen?'

'My parents negotiated the contract today,' Astrid muttered.

'Um… ack…' Ruffnut cleared her throat, 'You're not… you know… in _trouble_, are you?'

'What? No! I… I've never even… I'm still a…,' Astrid pulled at her hair, 'I'm not pregnant!'

'Phew. Glad to know,' Ruffnut sighed.

Astrid seethed. Pregnant? Seriously? This was _Hiccup _they were talking about! Granted, Ruffnut didn't know it was Hiccup, but still! The very idea of getting… pregnant …. With _Hiccup_! With _anyone_!… made her feel ill.

'You know, you _are _fourteen,' Ruffnut said, giving Astrid a punch that was the Viking way of offering comfort, 'This is going to happen sooner or later. I guess… it would be my turn soon,' she sighed, 'I do hope Dad won't marry me off to someone on some other island. I'm kind of comfortable here on Berk,' she paused, and turned to look at Astrid. 'Who are you marrying?'

Astrid braced herself. 'Hiccup,'

Ruffnut did not disappoint.

'Hic… _Hiccup_? What?' she spluttered, 'Hiccup _Haddock_? Hiccup the Useless?'

'Yes,' Astrid said miserably.

'You should run away!' Ruffnut waved her arms dramatically. 'Stowaway to Hopeless, or Freezing-to-Death. I'll help,'

'I can't,' The idea was tempting, dangerously so, 'Chief Stoick offered to take care of my family… you know, _financially_. If I refuse the marriage, I'd be throwing away the future of my entire family,'

Ruffnut knew how poor the Hoffersons were, everyone knew. Everyone sympathized, but there wasn't much anyone could do. 'Odin. This sucks,' she collapsed beside Astrid against the boulder.

'Tell me about it,' Astrid mumbled.

'Well… um, look on the bright side,' Ruffnut said, slapping a fist against a palm, 'Tis Hiccup we're talking about,'

'I wasn't aware there was a bright side,' Astrid said.

'He's _terrified _of you. You'd get to order him around! He won't dare refuse you anything. He'll be your personal slave. And… he works in the forge. So now you get repairs and all those nice weapons _free of charge_!' Ruffnut turned to her gleefully. 'And when you get tired of ordering him around, there's always a divorce. Just say you can't stand him any longer. By Thor, everyone would understand _that_,'

'You make it sound so easy,' Astrid said.

'It's Hiccup. It _should _be that easy,' Ruffnut shrugged. 'Don't think of him as a husband. Think of him as a… well, a puppy!' she grinned, pleased with herself. 'You're not getting married. You're getting a puppy you get to kick around, and he comes along with gifts and a house,'

Ruffnut was crazy. What she said was crazy. But somehow, Astrid felt a _little _better.

'You'd get to stay on Berk, you'd just be living in a different house. Hey, maybe you can even stop Hiccup from doing anything stupid. The tribe would be eternally grateful. Then Stoick would disown Hiccup and make you his heir instead!'

'Do you even hear yourself?' Astrid laughed.

'Hey, you laughed,' Ruffnut looked pleased, and punched her affectionately on the shoulder.

'Look Astrid. Hiccup's a total screw-up. But at least he's… _decent_, you know? He's not stupid, and he doesn't have an ego the size of Berk. I think… he might make an okay husband. At least I know he'll treat you right,'

'What would _you _do if you have to marry Hiccup?' Astrid asked.

'Milk it for all its worth. Make him do all the chores, rub my feet, run errands,' Ruffnut shrugged, 'I'll hog all the furs at night. Make him sleep on the floor. Scream at him for every little thing. I mean, if I would be miserable, he might as well be, too,'

'You really are crazy,' Astrid smiled weakly, 'but that's a very good idea,'


	6. Chapter 6

Insert here a little side-story. In which Ruffnut continues to be uncharacteristically kind.

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**Chapter Six**

Ruffnut Thorston would never admit it, being a tough Viking an all, but she did care a lot about Astrid, who was like a sister, and her only companion in a herd of yak - um- boys. So when she came back from the cliff, leaving Astrid to her thoughts, and saw Fishlegs coming up the hill, she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the docks instead. She figured Astrid wouldn't want anyone to see her in her current state.

Astrid should be grateful. Ruffnut wasn't usually so thoughtful.

'Uh… Ruffnut? Why are you… why are we…?' stammered geeky Fishlegs. Apart from Hiccup, Fishlegs must be the weirdest person ever in the village. Ruffnut figured this was the most excitement he had in his whole life, having a girl voluntarily grabbing him by the arm.

Oh yes, Astrid had _better _be grateful.

She pulled him onto one of the many bridges, and let go of his arm. He fidgeted. She crossed her arms.

'Um… why are we here?' Fishlegs asked nervously.

'Because we're not on the cliff. Just shut up,' Ruffnut said.

She had never stood so close to Fishlegs before. He was a lot bigger, wider and taller. Even bigger than Snotlout. He was also someone who couldn't seem to understand the order _shut up_.

'Why… are you out so late?' he asked.

'Came out for a walk,' she had enough loyalty to refrain from saying she had gone after Astrid. Besides, he didn't need to know her –or Astrid's – business.

'Yeah. Me too,' Fishlegs sighed.

Good. Now maybe he'd shut up. And they could spend the next hour or so in awkward silence, until Astrid recovered enough to go home.

Odin, she'd _make _Astrid feel grateful.

'Ruff… you're parents are leaving for the trip to Helheim's Gate too, right?' Fishlegs said in a low voice.

Thank you for reminding her. It was the reason she'd stayed up, staring out of her window instead of sleeping, which led to following Astrid to the cliff; which led to dragging Fishlegs down to the docks.

'Yeah. So?'

'Does… doesn't it bother you?'

It bothered her, not the fighting and killing part. The probably-not-coming-back part. But there was no way she'd tell Fishlegs. 'It's kind of cool,' she shrugged.

Her parents had always been part of the defense team. Ever since Valhallarama died of the sickness caused by injuries, Stoick the Vast had kept all the warriors with children on the sidelines as defense. Until now. So now her parents were going into enemy territory; and Ruffnut wasn't used to this new, panicky feeling in her chest whenever she thought about it.

'I'm worried,' Fishlegs said, 'what if… my parents don't come back?'

'Vikings go off on raids all the time,' Ruffnut said with confidence she didn't feel. 'Don't be such a wimp,'

'That's easy for you to say,' Fishlegs said with uncharacteristic heat. 'You have Tuffnut. At least you'd have someone with you,'

Ruffnut raised an eyebrow. 'What happened to Fishbreath?' Fishbreath was his sister, as small as Fishlegs was big.

'She's ten!' Fishlegs said loudly, 'if anything happens to my parents, I won't know what to do with her!'

She could actually sympathize with that. Tuffnut was her only sibling and her twin. He might be annoying and pathetic, but at least he was her age and didn't need taking care of. And it _was _a comfort – a small one, Ruffnut insisted – to know that even when her parents left, she would still have her brother to lean on.

'I wish Hiccup didn't try to help,' Fishlegs said miserably, 'then maybe we'd have enough food left and the chief won't ship everyone off to find dragons. With my parents gone, there'd only be my sister and I and no one else,'

It was not all Hiccup's fault, Ruffnut knew. She was sure Fishlegs knew too. After all, Hiccup didn't cause the heists; the dragons would have picked the island clean sooner or later even without his help. But it was easier, and not altogether wrong, to blame Hiccup.

'You know, you can hang out with us if you want,' she said in a rare show of generosity. Fishlegs looked very surprised. Usually he hung out with the gang because he was needed, not because he was wanted. Ruffnut hit his shoulder. 'Just make sure to leave all your stupid knowledge at home when you come along,'

Having used up all her patience and kindness in one day, she slugged him, and couldn't help being a little impressed when he didn't even flinch. That punch would have knocked her own brother over onto his butt. 'See you around, Fishlegs,'

She left hurriedly; and felt his puzzled gaze on the back of her neck the whole way.


	7. Chapter 7

Sadly, HTTYD doesn't belong to me.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The next morning, Hiccup saw Astrid when he trailed after the others into the training ring. Astrid avoided looking at him; Snotlout and Tuffnut jeered. Ruffnut, curiously, shot him a murderous look. Fishlegs, as usual, was full of knowledge he could not wait to share.

He did notice the way Astrid's hands tightened on her axe, and wondered if she was fighting the urge to fling it at his head, or if she was just nervous. Judging by the fact that Astrid had been looking forward to dragon training since they were both eight, Hiccup thought it was the former. She really was a remarkable person to show so much restraint. If he were Astrid, Hiccup would have murdered himself.

He nearly died – not because of Astrid, no. Though he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd deliberately let the Gronkle kill him. It was only Gobber's intervention that prevented him from being incinerated by the Gronkle's last shot. He blamed his inattention on his distracting oncoming wedding.

'Remember, a dragon would always –_always_- go for the kill,' Gobber warned them.

That took his mind off the fact that he had just narrowly escaped death, Astrid, and her dangerously lethal axe.

Then why didn't the Night Fury kill him?

Hiccup ventured back to the site where he had found the Night Fury, following fallen scales to a cove. Sure enough, the Night Fury was there, scrambling frantically up the sides of the little cove and falling; trying over and over again.

It was really beautiful. Hiccup, hidden from sight, sketched the streamlined animal quickly. Huge wings, short neck, blunt head…

And half a tail.

He had knocked off half of the dragon's tail. And now it couldn't seem to fly properly.

Guilt welled. As his fingers slackened, he dropped his charcoal into the cove. The Night Fury sensed his presence, and looked up at him. It did not attack, or show any outward sign of aggression. The dragon seemed to recognize him. It sat back on its hunches and stared back at Hiccup suspiciously, tilting its head to one side, observing him as he was observing it.

The Night Fury was no brainless animal, Hiccup realized. It was intelligent. It probably used its head more than most of the Vikings on Berk. No wonder it was so dangerous. It could think. It could _plan_. Explosive shots, great speed, agility, and now add in intelligence. The Night Fury was one formidable enemy.

But it didn't behave like an enemy should, not right now.

What was he supposed to do with a Night Fury that defied normal dragon aggressive behavior? Apart from 'kill on sight', he really had no idea what else to do with a dragon.

He would return the next day with fish, he thought to himself as he walked home. He assumed that was what the dragon ate after witnessing its attempt at fishing. Maybe he could stand at a distance and... throw the fish in or something. It couldn't fly, so Hiccup should be safe enough if he didn't enter the cove.

He had the guilty feeling that if he didn't do something soon, the Night Fury would die.

His feet carried him to the Great Hall. After his mother died, the Great Hall was where he and his father took to having all their meals. Stoick was not a cook, neither was Hiccup, though he could probably manage a broth better than Stoick could. He pushed open the tall door, and it was a few seconds before he realized the hall was brightly lit with ceremonial torches, and almost everyone in the tribe was in there.

He spotted Astrid's father in a wheelbarrow – his usual means of transportation, and blanched. There was Astrid's mother, and his own father. And Astrid herself, standing with them and glaring. She looked resigned and murderous.

'Come here, son!' Stoick boomed, a forced smile on his face as he waved at Hiccup. 'I have news!' he announced to the entire Hall, 'My son and Astrid Hofferson here will be married on Frigg's Day!'

Utter silence greeted this announcement. The people looked as though they were struck by lightning. Forks and cups clattered from slack hands. And all thoughts about the Night Fury fled from Hiccup's mind.

This was going to be a long night.


	8. Chapter 8

I really like Ruffnut. So in this story she is so much more than just a female version of Tuffnut. The problem is trying to get her to stay in character.

Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Getting married was more troublesome than Astrid had thought. She had to undergo a complete wardrobe change. Apparently her usual clothes were maiden clothes and should not be worn by a married woman. So time was spent sewing instead of practicing with her axe. There was a ceremonial purifying bath thing that involved lots of water, herbs, soap, and naked women. She also had to sit through lectures on how to be a first-class wife.

_Take care of his needs. Submit to him, though not always. He is the head of the house. Bear him children._

Of course, she could hear and see the pity. _The poor child, being saddled with a useless boy when she has so much potential. _

Astrid was more grateful for Ruffnut than ever. Her friend had stayed by her side through it all – except for the bath, since non-married girls weren't allowed in. When the women had mentioned _bearing children_, it had helped loosen the suffocating feeling in her throat to see Ruffnut – safely out of sight behind the women – sticking her fingers down her throat and miming gagging.

Snotlout had intercepted her on the streets dozens of times, trying to get her alone. But as Astrid was always surrounded by women now, he never got his chance. Astrid felt kind of bad for him – he _did _appear to have a crush on her. He was always flirting, always with a supply of the _lamest_ pick-up lines. And now she was going to marry his cousin.

The part of her that was not lamenting about her fate was glad that she was marrying Hiccup and not Snotlout. Hiccup was everything Snotlout was not – including having a brain and no Berk-sized ego.

The only times she saw Hiccup were during dragon training. Just the day before she had delivered a tongue-lashing to her cowering future husband, when his incompetence had nearly got her – and him- killed by the Deadly Nadder they were supposed to be attacking.

_'Our parents' war is about to become ours; figure out which side you're on!'_

What a way to start married life.

'So, Hiccup broke into his great-grandfather's great-grandfather's grave today,' Ruffnut said conversationally as she sat at the head of Astrid's bed, helping her sort through the clothes Astrid would bring over to Hiccup's house.

Great Odin, Hiccup's _house_.

'Huh?' Astrid said.

Hiccup broke into a _real _grave? And the grave of the first ever Haddock on the island? Whatever for? No one broke into real graves anymore. It was too much work.

'Tuffnut was there. He said Hiccup insisted,' Ruffnut shrugged. 'And that was after Stoick had already prepared a fake grave and everything. Tuff did say the sword Hiccup brought back was a real beauty,' she grinned. 'Tuff also said it nearly drove Stoick mad. Hiccup took forever to get into the grave and come back out with the sword. It's a really old sword, you know? The kind we hear in stories, with shiny stones and engraved phrases and all that,'

'He didn't need to do that,' Astrid didn't know that to think. Hiccup could have just forged a sword and passed it off as an ancestral sword. Everyone else did that now. There were not many ancestral swords left with all the dragon heists going on. And Astrid was honest enough to admit that Hiccup had a way with working with metal. His weapons were usually very sturdy, and beautiful.

'Maybe he thinks he needs a really pretty sword as a peace offering, so you won't kill him on your wedding night,' Ruffnut said.

Wedding night. All thoughts of swords flew out of Astrid's head. 'Argh. Shut up, Ruff,'

'Don't worry. I know the women said it would hurt and all that. But Hiccup's so skinny. I'm sure he doesn't have much to offer, so it won't hurt as much,'

'That's not… I'm not… ack!' Astrid grabbed her head, 'Just _shut up_!'

It wasn't the pain _per se_ that Astrid was worried about. It was the fact that it would be _Hiccup_, and it would be her _first time_. It was just… nauseating. And… she tried not to think about this part – they would have to… _consummate _their wedding in front of _witnesses_.

Stowing away to Hopeless or Freezing-to-Death now seemed triple tempting, but that ship had sailed – literally. Two ships had been sent out to buy provisions from the two neighboring islands to compensate for that they lost to the dragons and through Hiccup's foolishness.

Hiccup's fault again. Argh.

'You know, that could be another reason for divorcing him. His not being satisfactory in bed,' Ruffnut mused.

'I _will _hit you,' Astrid threatened.

'Okay. Shutting up,' Ruffnut guffawed.


	9. Chapter 9

Enter Tuffnut, the world's most deadly weapon.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

It was an okay day for a wedding, no hail or rain. Everything was ready. The rings were forged, by Hiccup the Useless himself. Useless Hiccup's old room had been enlarged for the soon-to-be-married couple, since there was no time to build a new house. And the wimp had actually practiced jabbing a sword into a post until he could _finally _do it now. And Astrid looked very un-Astrid-like and girly in her wedding dress.

Odin, his _sister _looked un-Ruffnut-like and girly in her dress.

Tuffnut Thorston was bored silly. The most interesting part of the whole thing was when they sacrificed the boar, with all that squealing and all the blood.

The whole ceremony felt like a funeral. The crowd was a sea of shocked faces trying to look happy. Snotlout, standing beside Tuffnut, had a look on his face that suggested his cousin would be in a world of pain the next time he got Hiccup alone.

Astrid looked as though she wanted to jab her sword into Hiccup as they exchanged rings. That would have livened things up a fair bit.

'I should do something,' Snotlout whispered dramatically, 'I should charge up there and beat Hiccup up. I'll be saving Astrid from a lifetime with _him_,'

'Stoick would knock you unconscious before you even reach them,' a part of Tuffnut wanted Snotlout to charge up there. It would be very entertaining.

'True,' Snotlout sighed, 'why ain't I the chief's son?'

'Shut up, idiots,' snapped his sister.

'No one asked your opinion, troll-face,' he retorted.

'Air-head,'

'Girl in a _dress_,' Tuffnut smirked; and yelped when the girl in the dress leapt on him and shoved him to the floor, where they had a furious but respectfully silent fight.

By the time they were done, the feast had begun, the new couple was sharing their first mug of mead; and his eye throbbed from his sister's fist, along with other parts of his body. By Thor she had a vicious right jab. He was ridiculously proud, but would die before he told her that.

Ruffnut's girly dress was torn and dirty, but she stomped regally off and deliberately sat down beside Fishlegs, who looked equal parts confused and terrified. Well, if she wanted to be bored to death by the guy who _read_, Tuffnut would leave her to it.

He sat down beside Snotlout, who was swallowing mead like it was a lifeline. 'My life is ruined. I lost the girl to _Hiccup_. And he's not even cool. That's really hard on a man, Tuff,'

'We're not men yet,' Tuffnut reminded him, pulling a mug towards himself before Snotlout could grab it.

'_You_ might not be,' Snotlout hiccupped, 'but _I _have been a man ever since I was seven, when I…'

'Almost killed that Terrible Terror, yes, you've mentioned it,' Tuffnut said.

'I _did _kill it!' Snotlout insisted, then deflated a little when Tuffnut raised his eyebrow. He was still sober enough to be honest. 'Well, I would certainly have killed it if _Hiccup _hadn't interrupted,'

Everyone in the gang knew that story; Snotlout took great delight in repeating it over and over. Apparently, young Snotlout had managed to sneak up on a Terrible Terror in the woods and was just going to strike with his dagger; when Hiccup came whistling through the trees and alerted it. Snotlout's dagger had missed it by mere inches.

He had a point, Tuffnut thought. If Hiccup hadn't come barging in and ruining Snotlout's chance with the Terror, Snotlout would already have killed a dragon at the young age of seven. But then, knowing the tiny dragons' tendency to travel in packs, Hiccup had probably saved his cousin from being carried off by the rest of the pack.

Since then, Snotlout had been honor-bound to beat up Hiccup whenever the chance presented itself. And Tuffnut had been honor-bound to help him. Hey, it was good practice. Sometimes his sister even joined in.

Then sparring with his sister had started to be more challenging, and Tuffnut had abandoned bullying Hiccup in favor of fighting with his sister. That was even better practice.

He looked over to the main table to see Hiccup playing with his fork, and Astrid toying with her food. They both looked miserable. Well, he could understand Astrid looking miserable, but Hiccup? He got the girl _and _he was getting laid that night. Tuffnut just couldn't understand him.

He saw his sister going up and sitting beside Astrid, who immediately looked a hundred times more cheerful. Looking at them together, Tuffnut suddenly realized that his own sister was fourteen too. Well, of course she was fourteen, they were the same age! But he just realized his sister was of marriageable age now. They both were.

Something uncomfortable wormed its way into his chest. Ruffnut had always been there. It would be… weird, if she were to marry someone and move away. Maybe he could talk their father into negotiating a contract for his sister with a family that was on Berk. Then she'd still be on the island and they'd still beat each other up whenever they want.

Something was different now, like the balance in their little group was thrown off. He and Snotlout were the top-dogs in the gang, of course – he would never admit to anyone that Astrid beat them all in practically everything; _then_ came his sister and Astrid; then came Fishlegs and last of all Hiccup. But now Hiccup was married to Astrid and his sister was sitting with Fishlegs. Granted, she must have done it to show she was mad at him. But _still_. It just felt wrong.

'We're losers, man,' Snotlout whined next to him. 'My cousin's going to bed a girl before either of us!'

He had not thought of it that way. Oh no, that was unacceptable. He was Tuffnut Thorston, the world's most deadly weapon, and Hiccup Useless was getting laid before _he _was. That was not fair. Tuffnut took a huge gulp of mead. By Thor, he needed to get drunk to reassert his manliness.

'You know what sucks, man? There're only two girls of our age. The rest are either _ancient _or too young. Now we have to wait _ages _before we can get laid,' Snotlout stopped, blinking, 'Wait, there's still Ruffnut, guess she'll have to do,'

Tuffnut swallowed a mouthful of mead quickly and wiped his mouth. Snotlout was his best pal – hey, who else was he going to choose? Fishlegs the Geek or Hiccup the Useless? – but talking like that about his sister was not okay.

'Stay away from Ruff,' he said, the mead swimming in his system. He felt out of balance and mean. Well, since he couldn't beat up Hiccup for getting laid before he did, he could beat up Snotlout for wanting to sleep with his sister. His sister… with Snotlout. Gods that was just gross.

'Why? I bet Ruffnut would love a piece of _this_,' Snotlout said, flexing his biceps.

'You're not talking about my sister like that,' Tuffnut snapped.

'C'mon. I know she's not hot like Astrid, but she's a _girl_,you know what I mean?' Snotlout seemed oblivious that Tuffnut was practically breathing smoke out of both nostrils.

Saying Ruffnut wasn't hot was _not _okay. They looked too much alike. It would be like saying _Tuffnut _wasn't hot. 'She's my sister, you troll,' he snarled, and slammed his fist into Snotlout's slack face. Snotlout retaliated by throwing his mug at him. They wrestled each other to the floor.

Snotlout punched his already throbbing eye. Stars burst in his vision, but he had the presence of mind to elbow Snotlout's nose and put a knee in his stomach. People were yelling around them. This fight was louder and more destructive, since Snotlout was strong enough to actually toss him into a table. Tuffnut went swinging back into action gamely.

A man grabbed him by the hair even as another grabbed Snotlout by the ear. 'Lay off each other, lads. Enjoy the mead while we still have it,' said a drunken voice in his ear as the owner shoved him into a chair. Snotlout pulled himself free and seemed to want to charge him again, but Ruffnut came right up to stand in front of him, and Snotlout deflated, sinking into a chair and doubling over.

Ruffnut glared at him, then turned to glare at Tuffnut. 'Seriously? You got yourself beat up? Mum's drinking, which means by tonight she'd be drunk and _I'll _have to patch you up. You know how I hate… Wait,' she smirked, as though the chance of inflicting pain had suddenly occurred to her. '_I'll _have to patch you up. I'm actually looking forward to that,'

Tuffnut scowled. What did she mean by his _getting himself beat up_? Couldn't she see Snotlout's bleeding nose, and that awesome bruise already turning blue around the other boy's neck? If they were allowed to fight it out, he could have won.

Ruffnut sat down beside him with a long-suffering sigh. 'Dad told me to come over and keep you out of trouble. You're ruining my night,' she grumbled, grabbing the mug that had been his and drinking from it.

'You don't have to be here. I think _Fishlegs _would love your company,' he sneered.

Ruffnut just raised an eyebrow. 'Jealous much? I didn't know you swing that way. I can tell Fishlegs for you if you like,'

'What? I'm not…' he spluttered.

'Was that why you were fighting? Snotlout got jealous that you like Fishlegs and not him?' Ruffnut sniggered.

'I was defending you, you idiot,' he muttered.

His sister blinked. She looked really stupid, but he was hurting and feeling off-balanced and just too not himself to sneer at her for it.

'And why would you do that?' she said conversationally.

'No one talks bad about my sister other than me,' he muttered.

'Hmm…' Ruffnut seemed to consider for a moment, then abruptly got up and went over to Snotlout. Tuffnut watched in faint surprise when she delivered the right jab that was vicious to Snotlout's eye. The boy crashed to the floor.

She turned to face him, mouth working, as though debating with herself. Then she slumped as though she had been denied something fun. 'Fine. I guess you don't deserve the extra amount of pain I was planning on handing to you,' she grabbed him roughly by the hair and pulled. 'C'mon. Your eye's swelling shut. Don't blame me if you get killed tomorrow in the ring because you can't see out of one eye,'

'_You_ hit me,' Tuffnut said sulkily.

'Yeah well. You deserved it for calling me a girl,' his twin pushed open the huge doors of the hall and dragged him out into the cold night air.

'You are a girl,' he pointed out.

'Since I'm the girl who just beat you up, what does that make you?' she said, and for once Tuffnut had nothing to say.

'I can't believe Astrid's married,' Ruffnut said conversationally. 'Suddenly I feel like we're growing up so fast. We're going to be full Viking warriors soon,'

It was rare to have his sister so amiably chatty. Hel, it was rare for him to let her be. A sudden, horrifying thought occurred to him. 'Dad hasn't negotiated a contract for _you_, right?'

She did hit him again, but not as hard. 'Not that I know of,' she said grimly.

'Good. Because I really want to have you around all the time for me to beat up,' Tuffnut said. It was as close to admitting to his sister that he would miss her if she left as he would allow.

'Yeah. I really like having you around all the time for me to beat up too,' Ruffnut said, and slugged him- affectionately, since he managed to stay on his feet.

Hiccup the Useless and Astrid were married. But his sister was right here beside him, arguing and punching; and at that moment, all was right in Tuffnut's world again.


	10. Chapter 10

I'd like to announce here that there would be no sex scene in this story.

Other than the fact that I feel sort of uncomfortable writing a sex scene between two 14 year olds, it just doesn't seem to fit - Astrid still hates Hiccup's guts; and Hiccup is in awe of Astrid, thinking of her as a sort of untouchable goddess instead of a flesh-and-blood girl. It seems they are emotionally incapable of being intimate right now; it might just destroy their relationship before it began.

Sorry to those waiting for a M rated scene.

Thanks for the reviews. :)

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Hiccup felt as though he was having an out-of-body experience. Nothing much had ever happened to him; and all of a sudden he was married and hiding a Night Fury.

When he had faced Astrid over the swords, and on the other side of the threshold of the Great Hall, he thought with the Night Fury he would have a better chance at walking away unscathed.

Under his father's prodding eyes, he had to hold out a hand –which Astrid grasped very reluctantly only because everyone was watching – and help her over the threshold; and he was very surprised when she didn't deliberately stumble and curse their marriage forever. She jerked her hand away as soon as she was inside.

Then he had taken a deep breath and thrown his sword at the post. It stuck, and there was a collective sigh of relief. Hiccup was just glad he didn't humiliate himself in front of the tribe, he didn't care how deep the sword went – the marriage had been unlucky from the start anyway.

They shared their first cup of mead as a couple, and he laid his hammer in Astrid's lap. Astrid glared the whole time; his head was beginning to ache from all the imaginary daggers.

So far, so good. He picked at his food throughout the feast, dreading, thinking. Astrid did not speak to him, she did not even look at him, and responded to every interruption at their table with fierce enthusiasm as though her life depended on it. Hiccup understood just how she felt.

Then the feast was over – at least for the married couple, and they were escorted to the house. The most dreaded part of the night had arrived.

'And now, to the bedroom,' Stoick said.

The stairs up to his room had never seemed so _short_. Soon, too soon, they were in the bedroom and the witnesses piled in after them.

He thought vaguely that this was one humiliation he would never subject his children to. If he'd have any.

Astrid, face expressionless, sat down on the bed. She looked like a goddess in her wedding dress, and was as still as a statue. Trying to block out the shuffling and mumbling of the witnesses behind him, Hiccup stood before her and removed the headdress Astrid wore.

For a moment their eyes met. There was something panicky in her eyes, something resigned, something bitter. Hiccup slowly put the headdress aside. Released, her hair curled around her face and shoulders, bright as a halo.

Odin, she was beautiful.

And her hands, balled into fists, were shaking in her lap.

Hiccup made up his mind then, and turned to the witnesses. 'You know, this is as far as I can go with you people watching,' he said, and hoped his voice did not tremble.

'What?' Stoick said.

'I can't… I can't do… _this_,' Hiccup gestured wildly, 'with all of you watching,'

'It's tradition, Hiccup,' Stoick said incredulously.

'Well… I'll tell you a secret, I'm not exactly a traditional guy,' Hiccup vowed that if he ever became chief, this would be the first tradition to go. 'You're making me nervous, and I'm already nervous enough. I'm not… I can't…' he spread his arms helplessly.

By tomorrow, rumors would spread all over Berk about his failure to perform in front of the witnesses. But at least the something sad in Astrid's eyes would go away.

Besides, he was too nervous; and Astrid looked too untouchable. He just wasn't _ready_. If the witnesses stayed, he was afraid he really _would _embarrass himself, and Astrid as well. And then tomorrow instead of rumors there would be actual facts. That was not happening. He crossed his arms and stared resolutely at his father.

There was some embarrassed shuffling from the witnesses. Stoick looked angry and humiliated.

'But we have to make sure the marriage is consummated. We have to make sure the girl is a maiden,' said a witness.

'She _is _a maiden,' Hiccup said. His father had told him how the wedding night would go, how he would hurt Astrid, and how there would be blood. Blood. Hey, he could use that. 'You… can… get your proof tomorrow. You know. Blood… blood on the furs or… something,' he flushed uncomfortably.

There was more shuffling and mumbling. It was tradition, but Hiccup had made it embarrassingly clear he wouldn't be able to… _perform_ when people were watching him. So what was they supposed to do now?

'We have to make sure you don't hurt Astrid,' said Astrid's mother.

'I'm pretty sure Astrid won't let me hurt her,' Hiccup said. There were murmurs of agreement. Oh yes, this was Astrid, and this was Hiccup. In fact, Hiccup might be the one getting hurt.

For a moment the witnesses stood in the room, uncomfortable, unsure of what to do. They looked to Stoick, and Stoick heaved a sigh. 'Well, come on. Let's leave the newlyweds to… to… yeah,' he led everyone out of the room. Hiccup closed the door behind them, and listened until their footsteps down the stairs faded. He slumped against the door with a sigh.

Wow. That actually worked.

'Let's get this over with,' Astrid said stiffly, not looking at him.

'Astrid, I know you don't want to do this,' he said. He found that he didn't stammer when he wasn't looking at her.

'Do I have a choice?' Astrid said, 'Either way, they'll be back tomorrow to see some… evidence,' she hissed the last word.

'There will be. Evidence, I mean,' Hiccup said, and pulled out his knife. Under Astrid's incredulous stare, he exposed the underside of his arm where it was least noticeable, and nicked himself. Blood dripped onto the furs.

'I'll sleep here tonight,' he told her, grabbing an armful of furs from the bed and dumping them in a corner of the room. 'You can have the bed,' He supposed he should say something to her. Anything. But his mind was un-customarily blank. So he lay down without another word and turned his face to the wall.

Maybe Astrid would say something instead.

It was some time before he heard her move, blowing out the candles and getting into the enlarged bed. But she did not speak. And after a while, he stopped waiting for her to.

His dream had come true – he and Astrid were married. It was terrible to have the wish of a lifetime coming true and finding it lacking.

What was he supposed to do now?

He wished he had had a different dream.


	11. Chapter 11

The morning after. Hmm.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Astrid woke the way she always did whenever she slept somewhere that was not her own bed. She shot into consciousness like an arrow from a bow.

She was in Hiccup's room. So it wasn't just a bad dream. The furs even smelled faintly like him. It… wasn't unpleasant. Hiccup was one of the few Vikings who bathed more often than the standard once-a-week, maybe because he worked in the forge. So he always smelled like soap.

Hiccup wasn't stupid like Snotlout, or smelly like Tuffnut, and he did not sprout information for hours on end like Fishlegs did. Maybe she'd get through the rest of her married life without going mad after all.

He was kind. She remembered what he had done for her the night before, defending her honor. How he'd nicked his own arm. She sat up slowly and looked down at the furs. The bloodstains really did show up.

Ruffnut had been right; Hiccup was at least decent. She had not expected him to be so… thoughtful. And somehow, she didn't feel the urge to bash his head in anymore. The bitterness toward him was gone.

Hiccup was still asleep, curled up in the corner. He didn't snore; another good point.

The room was huge, with Hiccup's workbench, shelves, and a new table and workbench for her to do anything she wanted with. The shelves were half-filled with his stuff, the other half left empty for her. There were new hooks on the walls, for her to hang her weapons; because Hiccup certainly did not have his own weapons to hang.

His workbench was covered in drawings of things she had never seen before, machines that shot weapons like blades or arrows. There were notes, and tiny prototypes. Pinned to the wall were other sketches, detailed and labeled. A rope-pulley system that made it simpler for sailors to control the sails from the deck; a ladder that could be shortened, lengthened or dismantled. Others were of people and places. Astrid recognized the cliff, the docks, even one depicting the Haddock house. There were sketches of the younger children playing.

He was actually very good, Astrid admitted grudgingly.

She got up, braiding her hair and, with a sharp glance at the still sleeping Hiccup, changed into proper clothes. Then she walked over to the boy curled under the furs.

Day One as Mrs. Haddock.

She kicked his foot. 'Wake up. It's morning,'

'Wha… what… I…' Hiccup blinked bleary eyes at her. 'Arrghh!' he sprang up.

'What?' she scowled.

'Ow,' he hissed in pain, rubbing where his head had connected with the wall. 'I'm just not used to having someone lean over me like that,'

'Get moving,' she shoved him mercilessly, 'we still have to go through the morning gift thing. Then it's dragon training,' Speaking of the morning gift, would Hiccup still present it to her? They hadn't done anything the night before, and Astrid knew she didn't deserve it.

'Yeah, yeah. Won't want to keep Dad waiting,' Hiccup said sarcastically, 'I'll bet he can't wait to get this over with so he could start out for Helheim's Gate,'

They really did inspect the furs, and appeared to find the bloodstains satisfactory. She made up a dream to report, and was told she and Hiccup would have four children and great fortune throughout their marriage. Their parents looked very pleased. But Hiccup shot her a disbelieving look; she hadn't managed to fool _him_.

Then the morning gift was presented.

Astrid tried hard not to ogle at the little wooden chest, filled with precious stones and gold coins. She tried even harder not to ogle at the finely made weapons and shields. There was a fortune in her morning gift, and it all belonged to her. She knew for a fact that the Haddocks had paid twice the amount to her father as the bride-price, which also included the patch of land right by the mountains, and the flock of sheep on it; all that now belonged to the Hoffersons.

She was speechless. Her parents were speechless, even her younger brothers ogled. The Hoffersons had gone from being one of the poorest families to one of the richest.

Was she really worth that much?

She didn't have much time to dwell on her new-found wealth. They were off to the docks to send off the warriors. Astrid stood beside Hiccup, uncomfortable, and watched the villagers saying goodbye. Children hugged their parents; wives their husbands.

Hiccup and his father stood apart from each other on the dock, none looking at the other.

'I'll be back, probably,' Stoick said to his son.

'And I'll be here' Hiccup intoned, 'maybe,'

Astrid saw Gobber walking up to them, rolling his eyes. He slapped Stoick's shoulder.

'Hiccup would like to tell you that he'll miss you. And that he hopes you find that Thor-forsaken island and stop taking your frustrations out on everyone, namely poor Gobber,'

He then turned to Hiccup. 'Stoick would like to tell you he'll be thinking of you the whole time. So train hard, don't throw a house party, and he'll do his best not to get eaten by a sea serpent or dragon,' Gobber shrugged, 'But if he does, well, that's that,'

'We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard,' Stoick said.

'We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard,' Gobber agreed enthusiastically.

'I said that,' Stoick pushed pass Gobber and headed onto the ship.

'Sorry for helping,' Gobber threw up his arms.

'Safe journey, Stoick,' Astrid said. It was the only thing she could think of.

'Take care of each other,' Stoick told them, then narrowed his eyes at Gobber, jerking his head toward his son. 'I want him back with all limbs intact,'

'Hasn't lost any yet,' Gobber said cheerfully.

She stood with Hiccup as they watched the ships sail off. Somehow she felt a little sorry for the Horrendous Haddocks, who obviously loved each other, but didn't know how to show it.

'Well, let's get back to dragon training,' Gobber said, patting Hiccup on the shoulder and nearly sent the boy headfirst into the sea.


	12. Chapter 12

Rumors abound.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

That evening, the gang ran into Hiccup on their way up the stairs to the Great Hall. Astrid walked on ahead without a word. Ruffnut had a sneering remark readied on the tip of her tongue –hey, see-Hiccup-and-sneer was a built-in reflex – but the expression on his face as he turned to watch Astrid made her hesitate.

She was horrified the very next second. Odin, was she getting _soft_? To actually feel _sorry _for Hiccup?

'Hey cousin, heard that you chickened out in front of the witnesses last night,' said Snotlout loudly.

Ruffnut was quickly halted by her idiotic brother as he pulled her to a stop. 'Wait. This I gotta hear,' Tuffnut grinned.

Hiccup just stood on the stairs, saying nothing and flushing scarlet as Snotlout waited, grinning widely. 'So I guess Astrid hates your guts even more now, huh? No wonder she's avoiding you like the plague!'

'Astrid does whatever she wants,' Hiccup said nervously.

'Technically, just because no one _witnessed _it, it doesn't mean Hiccup _didn't_…' Fishlegs began.

'Thank you, Fishlegs. But please don't finish that sentence,' Hiccup flinched.

Tuffnut and Snotlout burst out laughing. 'Oh Odin, you really _didn't_. Couldn't get your _act _up, huh? Or were you too _small_? Gods, I'm ashamed to be related to you!' Snotlout doubled over, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. 'You're such a wimp,' he shoved Hiccup down a step. 'You're such an embarrassment. You don't deserve Astrid,'

'I know I don't,' Hiccup said quietly, and left without another word.

Ruffnut shoved Tuffnut away and headed up to the Great Hall. Once inside, she made a beeline for Astrid, sliding into the empty space beside her. It was still a shock to see how different her friend looked now that her hair was tied differently, but that was counter-balanced by the familiar stern expression, the steady grip on the axe. Astrid was still Astrid.

'So how did last night go?' she asked straight out, beating around the bush was not Ruffnut's way. 'The guys were just laughing at Hiccup for chickening out in front of the witnesses last night,'

She saw something fleeting in Astrid's eyes. Was it shame? Anger? Maybe a bit of both. 'They have no right to say that. What did Hiccup say?'

Ruffnut shrugged. 'He left without saying anything. So? How _did _it go?'

Astrid hesitated. She looked around cautiously, as though afraid of being overheard. 'Keep it a secret?' she whispered.

'Sure,' Ruffnut said. Astrid stared at her sternly. 'Even from your brother?'

Ruffnut smirked. 'Especially from my brother. C'mon, tell,'

'Okay,' Astrid took a deep breath. 'Hiccup didn't touch me last night,'

It was during situations like this that Ruffnut wished her brain would work faster. How did one respond to something like this? 'Oh…' she blinked rapidly. 'You mean, he… _really _couldn't… do… it?'

'No. nothing like that,' Astrid said hastily, and flushed. 'He just… he could tell I didn't want to, so he didn't force me,'

Oh. _Oh_. Ruffnut didn't know what to think. Did that make Hiccup chivalrous? Or did it make him a wimp? 'That's…. nice… of him,' she said cautiously, then frowned. 'But how did you get away with it?'

'Hiccup sent the witnesses away, told them he couldn't… you know… in front of people watching. Then he cut himself and bloodied the furs. They came to inspect the furs this morning, and seemed to think the blood was my…' Astrid was definitely blushing now, turning quickly from pink to red.

'That's clever,' Ruffnut said; it was the best she could come up with.

They were interrupted as the boys came over; Snotlout strutting, Tuffnut sniggering, while Fishlegs looked like he'd rather be someplace else.

'So Astrid, how did my cousin do last night?' Snotlout grinned. 'I hope he wasn't too much of a disappointment,'

Only Ruffnut knew Astrid well enough to see the fury in her eyes. Astrid got up, knocking over her cup, and shot Ruffnut a look that said _play along_.

'No, he wasn't. In fact, Hiccup was amazing last night. He far _exceeded _all my expectations,' Astrid declared, loud enough to be heard by the entire hall. Then she stomped off amidst dumbfounded gazes.

Snotlout looked like a fish, gawping and gasping. Her brother blinked stupidly. Ruffnut rolled her eyes at them. 'You guys are pathetic,' And for the second time in her life she grabbed Fishlegs by the arm, and dragged him down to sit beside her on the bench. 'At least _you _are decent. Just sit here and don't talk to me,' she snapped at him, and reached for a plate.

Hiccup… well. She was right about one thing; he was decent. Sometimes, that seemed to make up for a lot of things.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Toothless was fascinating. Well, the Night Fury had been scary, but after the whole afternoon of trying to befriend the dragon, scary-Night-Fury became fascinating-Toothless.

Toothless seemed to be able to control the size of his pupils at will; Hiccup learned that dilated pupils meant the dragon was feeling happy and non-threatened; it also had the side benefit of giving the Night Fury an adorable, puppy-dog look. Toothless was also very curious, and displayed surprisingly successful mimicking behavior.

Toothless also regurgitated fish as a sign of friendship. And apparently it was proper manners to eat the offered, regurgitated gift.

After hearing from Gobber that a 'downed dragon is a dead dragon', Hiccup vowed to help his new friend fly again.

Helping Toothless fly was fascinating. He was capable of vertical lift-off, something Hiccup had never seen before in other dragons. His tail seemed to control the direction and aerodynamics of his flight. Designing a newly improved tail fin and figuring out how to work it would be fascinating, too. He had never been so delightfully challenged his whole life.

Oh, and Toothless also hated eels.

It was during times like this that Hiccup forgot he was married.

Though a part of him did wish he could share stuff like this with Astrid.

_Hey Astrid. I'm keeping a Night Fury in a cove about an hour's walk from here_. Yes, that would work just fine. Then he could bid goodbye to his head, and to Toothless' head, too.

It was like he wasn't married at all. The only difference was that Astrid now slept in his room, on his bed, while he slept on the floor. Since he always went to bed late, she would be asleep so he never had to talk to her. And since she always got up early, he would be still asleep so she never had to talk to him either. They had dragon training together, then Astrid would go off to train some more, while Hiccup went to find Toothless.

It was as if they were trying their best to avoid each other; or maybe it was just Hiccup trying his best to avoid Astrid.

After getting over their initial mutual distrust, Toothless was rapidly becoming a great friend. He listened and responded. For example.

'Hey Toothless, did you know I got married last week?'

Grunt, and a wide-eyed blink.

'There's no need to look so surprised. I _am _capable of attracting girls,'

A disbelieving snort and a snigger.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence. Here's a fish,'

Enthusiastic wriggling and tongue-slurping.

Hey, they were communicating, it was more than what Hiccup had done with anyone else.

The flight lessons would start next. Hiccup hoped it would be alright.

But hiding a Night Fury or not, daily life still went on.

'Today is about team work,' Gobber told them, opening the cage to let out a massive amount of smoke that immediately obscured everything everything from sight.

So they were supposed to find the Zippleback head that lit the fires, then throw water on it. That didn't sound so hard. But Hiccup was positive by now that however easy the lesson, he would be sure to screw everything up. So, to stop himself from getting killed or killing everyone else, he had decided to bring a little safeguard – other than the bucket of water - with him into the ring.

Fishlegs was paired up with him, murmuring about poison for pre-digestion and ambush attack. 'Would you please stop that?' he hissed.

He could hear the others talking somewhere in the smoke.

'If that dragon shows either of its faces…. I'm gonna…'

'There!'

'Hey! It's us, idiots!'

'Your butts are getting bigger…'

A fight broke out between the other four, and Hiccup and Fishlegs instinctively pressed in closer to each other. A yowl startled them. It sounded like Tuffnut. Hiccup swallowed hard. Did something happen to the male Thorston twin?

There was more yelling, and scuffing and scrambling.

Tuffnut was alright after all, judging by how fast he was running and how loud he was shouting. 'Ow! I am hurt! I am very much hurt!'

A dragon head poked out of the smoke. Fishlegs yelled and splashed it, only to find that it was the –

'Wrong head,' Fishlegs said, and ran screaming away from the stream of acid green gas. The other head poked into view.

'Now, Hiccup!' Gobber yelled.

This was it. He could be the person who topped this class today. Hiccup gave his bucket a mighty heave, and the water splashed harmlessly onto the ground.

Oh great. As the Zippleback snarled, there was only one way to end this. He had to cheat.

The Zippleback actually squealed at the sight of the eel. It back quickly into its cage. Hiccup threw the eel in after it, silently promising it that he would be back later to take the eel back out. 'Now think about what you have done,' He told it, closed the cage, and turned around to face the stunned class.

It was very gratifying. Very gratifying indeed, to have everyone stare at him like that, and not because he had messed things up again. For the first time since their wedding night Astrid met his eyes. She looked stunned and confused.

'So are we done?' Hiccup said in a cheerful voice. 'Cause I've got things I got to… um. Well. See you tomorrow!' he left hurriedly.

No one followed him. But he snuck around the edge of the village just in case. If he were to make Toothless a better tail fin, no one should see him working at the forge. It was a good thing that all the warriors were out at sea, and business in the forge was slow. Gobber was seldom there now, and he had the place mostly to himself.

He snuck back to the forge and put on his apron. Apparently befriending Toothless had the advantage of boosting him up to the top of dragon training class. For the first time in forever he felt really, _really _good about himself.

Maybe he should learn more tricks from Toothless.

He looked out of the window. From the forge, he could just see his house on the hill. A little sadness crept in amidst the jubilation.

Where was Astrid? Was she even wondering where he was?

He highly doubted it. She was probably training somewhere again, extra hard. Because for once, she wasn't the top of class.

Yes, he did wish he could share this dragon stuff with Astrid.


	14. Chapter 14

I've no idea where this chapter came from, or if it's relevant to the plot. Seems a shame to not post it though...

Thanks for reviewing. :)

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Astrid _was _training in the forest, throwing her axe into trees. And she was also wondering about Hiccup.

How did he do that to the Zippleback? One moment he was about to be bitten in half, and for a horrifying second she had thought she would be a widow before the first week was over. Then the dragon was backing away from him as though he had some highly contagious disease.

Something was not right. She might not talk to Hiccup, but she knew him at least well enough to know that something was off.

Hiccup was hiding something.

But did he have the courtesy to tell his wife? No. Then he had left early, so she was left to answer the others' excited questions regarding his success. It had been embarrassing telling the others that she knew nothing more about Hiccup than everyone else.

She growled and flung her axe into another tree.

'There's my girl, killing trees as usual,' shouted a cheerful voice.

Astrid yelped and spun around. Her father was there in the clearing with her, beaming at the axe still quivering in the tree trunk. 'You're getting better,'

'Not good enough,' Astrid retrieved her axe and walked to him, concerned. 'Dad, you're not supposed to come out here alone,'

Her father scoffed. He had huge arms, strong from years of pushing himself around on a wheelbarrow. But this was the first time he had pushed himself all the way into the woods to find her. 'I can take care of myself, lassie!' he boomed.

He had been a huge man, a great warrior, and a mountain in an eight-year-old's eyes. Then the mountain had fallen. Now he was still a huge man from the waist up; but his legs had turned into brittle sticks from lack of use. Astrid knew he was still as good with weapons as when he still had the use of his legs, but she couldn't help worrying.

'Dad, why are you here?' she went to him and began to wheel him around, heading back to the village, where it would be safe. There was something different about him, but Astrid couldn't figure out what.

'Came to see my girl,' he boomed happily. He winked at her over his shoulder. 'Came to ask why you are here, sulking, instead of being in your mother's kitchen, bragging about your husband's achievement in the ring,'

Ah, that. Funny. Her father had always managed to zero in on something she _didn't want to talk about_. 'Hiccup didn't do anything,'

'That what you call it nowadays? Pushing a Zippleback back in its cage with bare hands is _nothing_? What is _something_, then?'

And they'd always end up talking about it anyway.

'He didn't… it wasn't… Hiccup didn't… Argh!' Astrid shook her head. 'I don't know what happened. But it certainly isn't what you think! He nearly got us killed just last week! Even if he trained from sunup to sundown these few days, he wouldn't have gotten so good! Something's not right. He's hiding something,'

Her father was silent for a moment. That was not good. Astrid braced herself.

'So are you out here sulking because you're jealous of Hiccup for being top in class today, or because he's hiding something from you?'

'None of the two!' Both of them, actually. But she would eat her axe before admitting it.

Completely ignoring her answer, her father looked at her curiously. 'Is it really that difficult to be pleased that Hiccup is finally doing something right? He must have felt very happy today. It shouldn't be so hard to be happy for him, Astrid,' he chided gently. 'You are his wife,'

The shame crept up her neck and she flushed. 'I know… I'm just…' she spoke slowly, trying to clear her thoughts. 'I guess I wouldn't have been so mad if he'd done something really... obvious, like knocking the dragon out with a hammer or something. What he did today was… kind of impossible. He used... did... something… I don't know what. He knows something, and he's not telling me,'

'Why should he tell you?' her father said patiently.

'I'm his wife,' Astrid thought that was pretty obvious.

'And you tell him everything because he's your husband?'

'Well… I'm not the one keeping some big secret…'

Her father sighed. 'Astrid, lass. Hiccup doesn't know how to tell anyone anything. No one's ever listened before, so he's not in the habit of telling,'

'Really?' Astrid said coldly, 'That's funny. I thought normally the problem was you can't get him to shut up,'

'The boy speaks alright, nothing wrong with his tongue. But he doesn't _tell_, Astrid,'

What was the difference, anyway? 'What am I supposed to do?'

'Talk to him. Ask him. Show him you are listening,' her father advised.

'Sure. I can do that,' Astrid said. She had no intention of asking. If Hiccup wanted to tell her something, he would tell her himself without her running after him.

Her father sighed in the way he always did when he saw through her lie. Maybe because he had spent so much time on the sidelines, watching, waiting; he was always so _patient_, and he saw things Astrid didn't want anyone to see.

'It's not fair to blame Hiccup for your marriage, Astrid. The boy didn't do anything to deserve it,'

It was no use denying it. Her father knew _everything_. It had been easier just to blame Hiccup, because he was there, he was involved, and he was a handy target. But he hadn't wanted to marry her, either, had he? As the groom, his father very likely didn't even ask his opinion. At least as the bride her parents had asked her. So he was just like her, stuck in a marriage he did not want. But he had been gracious about it. Astrid reluctantly admitted that he was a better person than she was.

But Hiccup _did _like her, right? He was always stuttering when he was around her, so she knew that she made him nervous. Or maybe he was just terrified of her, as Ruffnut had said. He never flirted like Snotlout, he just went red and stuttered and then left as soon as he could.

Did… did he even like her?

Odin, she was insane. She didn't like Hiccup, but she didn't like the notion that Hiccup didn't like _her_. She was a terrible person.

'Hiccup's a fine lad, Astrid. I've always kind of like him. He reminds me of _me_,' said her father.

She gaped at him. 'What? No he doesn't,' How could her father compare himself to Hiccup? Hiccup was a screw-up! Her father was a great warrior who had given all to the village! 'Hiccup's nothing like you!'

'Lass, pay more attention, and you will see how like your old man he is,' They had reached the edge of the village now. Her father patted her arm. 'I can go from here on my own. Go back to your training, girl. And just so you know, we didn't agree to your marriage because of the gold or the status,' he shrugged when Astrid narrowed her eyes at him. 'Well, it was a contributing factor, I'm not going to lie. But mostly we agreed because it was Hiccup. You can't do any better than marrying Hiccup,'

Astrid stared at him in horror; her father had officially lost his mind.

He waved cheerfully and began pushing himself back to the house. As she stared after him, the something different that had been nagging at the back of her mind suddenly became very apparent.

She stepped forward. 'Dad. What…? Is that…?' she stared hard, 'Are those extra wheels on your wheelbarrow? And it's… is it _smaller_?' She had never seen a wheelbarrow with four wheels before.

He beamed. 'Finally noticed, eh? My new son-in-law is a genius! Built me this new thing so I can move around better,' he patted the wood like it was a favorite pet. 'It's smaller, so it's less heavy and easier to control. And look at this!' he pointed to a handle thing fixed to the wood that seemed to be somehow connected to the small front wheels.

'Is that…'

'A steering handle!' her father said excitedly, 'I turn it like this…' he pushed the stick to the left, and the front wheels followed, 'See that? Makes it so much easier for me to get around tight corners,'

A steering handle? That was so… unheard of. So… Hiccup. Hiccup alone had noticed her father's difficulties, and had set out to find solutions for them. Only Hiccup.

She stared at her father's delighted face, and struggled with an unfamiliar feeling blooming in her chest.

* * *

She lay awake that night, waiting for Hiccup. She should say something to him; anything. But when Hiccup's muffled footsteps sounded on the stairs, she found that she had nothing to say. The door opened, and at the very last moment, she closed her eyes and feigned sleep.

His footsteps stopped beside the bed. And then the furs were gently adjusted so they covered her up to the chin. Then Hiccup gave a soft sigh and his footsteps faded towards his corner.

Astrid didn't sleep much that night. The unfamiliar feeling in her chest did not go away.


	15. Chapter 15

I seem to have been neglecting Fishlegs. So here's his chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Hiccup defeated the Gronkle with what looked like a single punch. Fishlegs Ingerman knew that was close to impossible. The Gronkle had a skin of armor 9, and taking into consideration Hiccup's weight and the distance between them when Hiccup had seemingly knocked the dragon over, there was no _way _Hiccup had punched the dragon out. Fishlegs had the calculations all worked out, and was prepared to argue his case with talks on momentum and force.

The only problem was that everyone in the gang became glassy-eyed five seconds after he began speaking; Fishlegs just couldn't understand them; classical mechanics wasn't that hard to understand, was it?

Anyway, since Hiccup didn't do it, so something else much have made the Gronkle fall. Maybe Tuffnut knocked the dragon stupid and it just fell at Hiccup's feet. It was only a coincidence.

But when Hiccup took out the Deadly Nadder, Fishlegs knew there was no coincidence involved. He clearly saw Hiccup deliberately dropping his weapon, and the dragon stopping in mid-attack to stare at him. He hadn't been in its blind spot at all. Then Hiccup had raised a hand to the dragon's neck, and it dropped like a stone before Astrid could swing her axe into it.

It was the single most amazing thing Fishlegs had ever seen. But when they crowded around Hiccup to ask how he had done it, he seemed overwhelmed by the attention and fled. It was no use asking Astrid. She looked too incredulous and too angry for Fishlegs to approach safely.

Fishlegs' theory was that Hiccup had touched a weak spot somewhere. He must have done the same with the Gronkle. So dragons had weak spots, that knowledge would come in handy during dragon heists.

But when Hiccup managed to get the Terrible Terror into its cage without even _touching _it, even Fishlegs was stumped. There was no theory to explain_ that_.

'We should call him Hiccup Ironfist!' said Snotlout loudly.

They were in the Great Hall, eating dinner. As usual, Hiccup wasn't there. And judging by Astrid's scowl, she didn't know where he was either. Everyone insisted that Hiccup was having additional training; but Fishlegs had another theory – Hiccup wasn't training, he was off somewhere secret to _observe _dragons. Among the group, Fishlegs alone knew the value of observation. There was no way Hiccup would know the dragons' weaknesses without observing them.

'He didn't exactly hit the Terror today,' Ruffnut pointed out.

'He didn't even touch it,' Astrid said a little hotly.

'Yeah. But it ran away from him. Like it knew he was dangerous, or something,' Tuffnut said with hero-worship in his eyes.

'Hiccup the Dangerous!' Snotlout said, holding up his mug like he was about to toast Hiccup.

It was interesting. Days ago Snotlout sought every opportunity to make fun of his cousin; but now that Hiccup was becoming a great dragon fighter, he couldn't wait to sing his praises. While Hiccup, who had been even more socially awkward than Fishlegs himself, remained as socially awkward as he had been before his success, and the excessive amount of attention the villagers now paid him only seemed to alarm him.

Fishlegs had thought Hiccup would become somewhat like Snotlout with his success. But nothing like that happened. That just showed what kind of person Hiccup really was.

Fishlegs was glad he had never made fun of Hiccup before.

'Oh please, Hiccup's not dangerous, he hasn't changed at all,' Astrid said heatedly, 'he's just… _hiding _something,'

'I'd like to know what it is that he's hiding then. Maybe you can tell us and we'd all be better dragon killers,' Fishlegs said earnestly, looking at her. Astrid looked back at him coldly.

'Hiccup didn't tell you?' Tuffnut said to her hopefully. 'But you guys stay together! What do you do all night anyway…?' he blanched as Snotlout coughed. 'Don't say anything! I don't wanna know!'

For a moment, Astrid looked like she wanted to hit either him or Tuffnut, but they were both sitting on the other side of the table and reaching over would be too much of an effort. 'Just shut up,' she said, flushing. Ruffnut sniggered, and the two girls exchanged one of those glances girls threw each other all the time; the one that said _volumes_. Without another word, Astrid got up and left, though not before shooting Fishlegs a hard glare.

'Nice, Tuff. Now I have that _image _of my cousin and… in my head. Thanks a lot,' Snotlout punched Tuffnut on the shoulder.

Ruffnut rounded on Fishlegs. 'Way to go, butt-brain,'

He would never know where the Thorston twins learned their name-calling. 'What did I do?' he said, confused.

'You opened your big mouth. I thought you were supposed to be smart,' Ruffnut said, looking over to the floor where her brother and Snotlout were wrestling. 'Boys are jerks, and idiots,' she stood up.

'Where are you going?' he blurted. Ruffnut just shot him a disgusted glance.

'No wait! What did I do?' he jogged after her. Weeks before he would never have dared to speak to Ruffnut like that. He tended to drone on about things he knew and his peers didn't seem to like him much. But Ruffnut had voluntarily sought his company a few times in the last few weeks, so he supposed they were friends of some sort.

Ruffnut turned on him, poking a finger in his chest. Her finger was small enough, pointy enough that it was almost sharp, and it hurt. 'You assumed that Astrid must know what Hiccup's trying to hide,'

'But that's logical, isn't it?' he protested. 'They're married!'

'Idiot,' Ruffnut said.

'How should I know that Hiccup didn't tell her?' he said, throwing up his arms.

'I suppose all boys are idiots, so you really can't help it,' Ruffnut said, rolling her eyes.

'Would you just tell me why Astrid was angry? Well, angrier?' Fishlegs said, beginning to be annoyed.

'Argh. Fine. I'll spell it out for you. Astrid was already angry because Hiccup didn't tell her what he's hiding. Then you went and brought it up in front of _everyone _so now everyone knows that Hiccup didn't tell her anything, so she's angry as well as embarrassed. And if you tell her I told you this, she'll kill me, and then I'll kill you. So take this to your grave,'

It sort of made sense, he supposed. 'If she wants to know so badly, why didn't she just ask Hiccup?' he said.

There was the half-frustrated, half-pitying look from Ruffnut again.

'You boys just don't understand girls,'

'Well, I've never been a girl,' Fishlegs said reasonably.

Ruffnut sighed, and patted his shoulder like he was a particularly stupid three-year-old. 'She didn't ask Hiccup because he was supposed to tell her without her asking. It's the principle. It's a matter of pride,'

Principle? Pride? What did principle and pride have anything to do with asking such a simple question? Was it so humiliating to simply say _hey Hiccup, I'm wondering how you defeated the dragons, can you tell me_?

They should put girls in a new entry in the dragon manual, under Mystery Class. It would be kind of appropriate, since they were fierce, unpredictable and volatile, kind of like a dragon.

'Maybe Hiccup doesn't even know she wanted to know,' he suggested.

Ruffnut just looked at him. 'Yep,' she concluded. 'Boys are clueless,'


	16. Chapter 16

Special thanks to **EvaninEreska** for a sketch of Hiccup from a scene in chapter 10. :) Thanks to him this story now has a cover image.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

'You know, bud, I really need to keep some spare tools around when we go for our test flights,' Hiccup told the Night Fury as he dragged him towards the village. He wasn't sure if the grunt he got in return was meant to be an answer; Toothless was momentarily distracted by a green frog and was staring at it in great interest.

The flight practice had gone rather well, until they were blown over by a huge gust of wind and he ended up tied to the dragon, the ropes so hopelessly tangled that Hiccup could do nothing with them. So there was no other way. Hiccup had waited for the sun to set before setting off cautiously to the village with Toothless following happily behind. He had to get to the forge where he kept his tools.

Toothless was very excited with the new surroundings, pushing his inquisitive nose into everything. He probably hadn't seen a Viking village from ground level before, so his enthusiasm could be forgiven. The noises he produced made Hiccup very nervous, though. So he kept up a running commentary to keep himself calm.

'That path leads to Mildew's place, bud. He has an attitude even the toughest Viking can't stand. Don't you _ever _try heading that way. Oh what am I saying? Don't you _ever _come this way either. Believe me, no one in the village would love you like I do,'

Toothless purred at his declaration of love and head-butted him affectionately, nearly knocking him down the hill.

They were at the perimeter of the village now. Toothless snorted in interest and pulled Hiccup towards one of the nearest houses. Hiccup gripped the rope firmly. 'Nope! That's Nutcase's place, she has two small children. Nothing, I tell you, is scarier than a mother trying to protect her kids,'

Toothless subjected to being pulled away with a mournful sigh. The look he gave Hiccup said _c'mon, let me have some fun. _Ignoring him, Hiccup pulled him into a small alley between two houses, just in time to avoid a night guard.

'Hi Hiccup! Great performance in the ring today!'

'Yeah. I'm still… working… on it, actually,' Hiccup hoped his grin looked normal and convincing. 'Say hi to Bigmouth for me now,' He told the guard, and slumped against Toothless as the guard waved and left. 'That was too close,'

Toothless didn't care how close it was. There were too many new sights and smells. Twice he stuck his head in a bucket; three times Hiccup had to pull him away from someone's window.

'No. Wait. _Leave that wheelbarrow alone_! Oh man… wake up the whole village, why don't you. Ah, thank Odin,' he shoved the dragon into the forge. '_Finally_,' he grabbed a knife – it was a testimony to how much Toothless trusted him to let him hold a knife at such close proximity; dodged the bucket Toothless threw into the wall, and grabbed the rope tying them together, 'Now hold still,'

Toothless stared avidly around in great interest, snorting and bumping into things as Hiccup sawed away at the rope. 'You've better let me bring my knife along next time, bud,' He was never ever bringing Toothless into the village again; it was too hard on the nerves.

'Hiccup?' said a voice. 'Are you in there?'

'Oh no,' Hiccup pushed Toothless aside. 'Be _quiet_!' he hissed and pushed open the window.

'Astrid! Hi Astrid. Hi Astrid. Hi Astrid,' he warbled.

His wife stood in front of the forge, staring at him and frowning. A sheep bleated somewhere, and Hiccup hoped desperately that Toothless would not think about investigating.

'I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird,' Astrid told him. It was the longest sentence she had said to him in a week.

Toothless was moving, pulling the rope tight. Hiccup was dragged back against the window. He could only smile weakly and stupidly at her, as his brain was too busy screaming _oh no oh no oh no oh no.._.

Of all the people who could have caught them, it had to be Astrid. The gods really did hate him.

'Well, weirder,' Astrid amended.

It was then that Toothless decided to investigate the bleating sheep, and gave a mighty heave, pulling Hiccup back through the window. He didn't wait to see how Astrid would react. He dived onto Toothless. 'Let's go. _Now_!'

As Toothless bounded away, Hiccup looked back at Astrid's lonely figure, standing in front of the opened window. 'Oh man. Toothless, I think I just did something not recommended in the marriage rule book,'

Toothless purred, unconcerned, and went to look for the sheep.

* * *

Astrid couldn't find Hiccup anywhere. She wouldn't have cared really. But Hiccup was her _husband _now. And as her husband he wasn't getting away with _running away _from her like that.

And when she found him, he was in for a whole lot of pain for embarrassing her.

There was a sensation in her chest that she refused to admit was hurt. Hiccup had _not _hurt her. She didn't even _like _him. She was more than fine with his running away and his refusing to speak to her. Oh yes, she was just embarrassed, and angry. Inflicting pain was a matter of principle.

Hiccup was not in the house, or the Great Hall. After a search around the plaza, Astrid concluded he wasn't in the village. Where could he be? It was so dark, he had to be somewhere nearby. Astrid highly doubted Hiccup had gone off to visit Mildew on the other side of the mountain.

That left the training ring.

The old Hiccup would never go near the ring, but she wasn't so sure about the new Hiccup. A sudden thought occurred to her, and she snarled to herself. Maybe Hiccup was secretly having extra training in the ring! That would explain why he always came back so late, and kind of explain why he had gotten so good at dragon training. Maybe.

She really doubted that Hiccup had _merely_ been having extra training.

Nevertheless, she stomped off toward the ring.

There were guards, of course; two of them, stationed at the entrance, playing a stick game of some sort with each other while waiting for their shift to be over. Their job was to make sure none of the captured dragons escaped. Since it was highly unlikely the dragons would be bursting out of the thick stone walls of their cages, no one took the job very seriously.

They grinned and waved her in after making sure to inform her that she wasn't allowed to let any dragon out of its cage – as though she had a death wish, Astrid thought grumpily – and told her that no, Hiccup had not entered the ring since the end of their lesson that day.

The ring was silent, a little eerie with all the moving shadows. The dragons were out of sight in their cages and made no sound. She felt suddenly small and alone in the vast ring.

They had trained with the Nadder after Hiccup had pushed the Terror back in its cage. The stone walls bore recent marks of Nadder shots - Nadder flame, being the hottest fire produced by a dragon, did the most damage. There were also several spikes embedded into the walls where the Nadder had tried to impale Snotlout and missed.

Then Hiccup had somehow managed to subdue the dragon again.

How did he _do _that? And why didn't he tell her anything?

Granted, she and Hiccup never spoke at all. The only times she saw him outside of the ring were in the mornings when she woke up and he was there on the floor, curled up among the furs. He didn't even take his meals in the Great Hall anymore. It was as if he was deliberately avoiding her.

She was used to ignoring him. Then why did she feel as though something was wrong when _she _was the one being ignored?

Still deep in thought, she raised her hand and touched one of the Nadder spikes. Secretly, she had always thought the Deadly Nadder the most beautiful dragon she had ever seen. It was fast, and had the hottest flame in the dragon world. Too bad it was a dragon, and dragons were responsible for her father's paralysis.

In some alternate universe where dragons and Vikings co-existed peacefully, Astrid thought she might actually like the Nadder.

Alternate universe. Odin that sounded like something Hiccup would come up with. Apparently sleeping with him in the same room was enough to pick up some of the Hiccup-ness. Involuntarily her hand tightened around the spike, and a sharp sting made her let go at once.

In the dim light she saw her hand bleeding, and swore.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

'Ow!' Tuffnut howled.

'Shut up, you big baby, it's just a cut,' Ruffnut smirked, and pressed the cloth down – _really_ _hard-_ over the shallow gash on his arm. 'Serves you right for fighting with Snotlout and getting hurt when Mum's not here,'

'I'm a _Viking_. Vikings fight all the time! How else can you perfect your skill?' he demanded; and yowled when she dumped a balsam-smelling liquid on his arm that stung and burned, then began rubbing it in briskly –_very_ briskly- with a cloth.

Their mother was one of the village healers, and Ruffnut had learned the basics from her. Tuffnut had to admit, his sister was actually a really good healer-in-training. She had lots of practice, usually on him. Now if she would stop torturing him, she would be perfect.

He yelped as she jerked the cloth away and peered at the cut. 'Hmm… looks deep. Maybe I should _stitch_ you up,' she grinned nastily.

'Yeah. That worked when I was ten. I know enough now to know this doesn't need stitches,' Tuffnut gulped. There was a nasty glint in her eyes. His sister was having the time of her life.

'You won't know that, you can't be _sure_,' Ruffnut picked up a huge, pointy needle and leered.

He wished his mother were here.

He actually sighed in relief when someone banged on the door loudly. Ruffnut looked annoyed that her fun had been interrupted. 'Someone had better be dying,' she shouted as she opened the door.

'Astrid?' she said in surprise, and Tuffnut pulled down his sleeve – his cut looked as though it had stopped bleeding anyway, and got up. Sure enough, he could see Astrid's blond hair and armored skirt in the doorway. He had never been so glad to see her.

'Someone could be,' Astrid said grimly.

'Did you beat Hiccup up? Does he have a severe head injury?' Ruffnut asked, crossing her arms.

'No. I meant me,' Astrid said drily, and held out her hand for Ruffnut to see. There was blood, still dripping, staining Ruffnut's hand when his sister reached out for it, holding it up to the light to see better.

'Eww,' Tuffnut declared. 'Why is your hand _green_?'

'I pricked myself with a Nadder tail spike, okay?' Astrid said, rolling her eyes at him, then turned to look at Ruffnut. 'Am I going to die?' she asked bluntly.

Ruffnut was already opening the cabinet to take down their mother's medicinal jars. 'Did you run into a Nadder?'

'No, I was in the ring. The spike I cut myself on was one of those that missed Snotlout this morning,'

Ruffnut pulled Astrid down to sit on a chair. 'Light another candle, Tuff,' she commanded without looking at him. It was only during times like this – and when she was patching him up- that Tuffnut allowed his sister to push him around. She was doing healer stuff after all. He'd just look for a reason to beat her up sometime later.

Without complaint he did as he was told.

'How are you feeling? Any numbness? Stiffness?' Ruffnut demanded, rubbing some spicy-smelling paste on Astrid's hand. Nadder poison worked by stunning its victims, even Tuffnut knew that. Numbness would set in, spread to the whole body, and when left untreated, would still the lungs and heart.

He couldn't help notice that his sister was a lot gentler with Astrid than she had been with him. He scowled. So much for twin loyalty. He really had to find some reason to beat her up later. Much later. Maybe after his arm healed; or Ruffnut would be sure to use that against him. She was a true Viking after all.

'No,' Astrid said tensely, 'just a little sick,'

'Then no, you won't die,' Ruffnut said curtly, bandaging Astrid's hand –which had stopped bleeding- tightly with a piece of cloth. 'The poison was old, and you only have a little of it in your system,' she peered at Astrid's hand again. 'But you'd be feeling horrible tonight, and possibly the whole of tomorrow too,'

Yup, Ruffnut was good. Though Tuffnut would suffer torture before admitting that in his sister's presence.

'Horrible as in how?' Astrid said.

'You'd feel sick. And there'd be a fever. You'd feel like you rather die,' Ruffnut grinned happily. 'But it's nothing you can't handle,'

'Right,' Astrid said weakly. She _was _beginning to look a little green. 'I'll kill Hiccup when I get better then,'

'I'll help,' Ruffnut said cheerfully. She got up and began wrapping up some herbs in a cloth. 'You'd need this tonight,' she told Astrid cheerfully, 'It's willow bark,' she said when Astrid peered into the cloth, 'for your fever,'

'Oh,'

'C'mon, let's get you back home before you're too weak to walk,' Ruffnut said, picking up the bundle and grabbing Astrid's arm. 'Tuff, let's go,'

'Why do I have to go?' Tuffnut groaned, just to be difficult.

'Because you're a guy and you'd get to carry Astrid if she falls over on her face,' Ruffnut snapped. 'Now move,'

'_You _can carry her,'

'No one's going to carry me,' Astrid said harshly. She really looked green now. Maybe it wasn't wise to continue with the bickering in the house. Astrid might throw up and then they would have to clean up. Tuffnut hated cleaning up.

'Oh fine,' he followed them out of the house.

'I can walk just fine,' Astrid said, pulling her arm away from Ruffnut's grip, and walked on ahead. She swayed just a little. Ruffnut rolled her eyes and followed. 'Don't worry. We're just behind you, so feel free to fall on your face any time,' she shouted loudly.

Astrid said something very crude and very vicious in reply. Tuffnut nearly sighed in appreciation, and carefully filed that expression away for future use.

Ruffnut hummed happily as they followed Astrid up the hill to the Haddock house. She seemed to have forgotten that she had been threatening him with a needle. Tuffnut thought it was now safe to ask. 'I don't have to serve _you _willow bark tea tonight, right?' he asked his sister in a low voice, trying to sound nonchalant.

'What on Earth are you talking about?'

'You have Astrid's blood on your hand,' he pointed out.

'What? Oh. Dimwit,' Ruffnut scoffed. 'Nadder poison doesn't work that way. It needs to get into the blood. Getting some on skin isn't going to work. You don't see any cut on my hand, do you?' she jerked up her bloodied hand and narrowly avoided slapping him across the face.

'I'd be happy to give you one,' Tuffnut retorted. 'Fish-breath!'

Ruffnut raised an eyebrow. 'You're losing it. It's Ruffnut. _Ruffnut_. Fishbreath is Fishlegs' sister, remember?'

He knew that. 'I know that! I meant that as an insult. Thick-skull!'

'Half-troll!'

'Rot-face!'

'You squeal like a girl!'

'_You _hit like one,'

She punched him on his injured arm. The pain was white-hot and blinding. His sister was a true Viking. And he was reminded that he was ridiculously proud.


	18. Chapter 18

So a couple of readers had given me some feedback, telling me my chapters should be longer. So starting next chapter I'll try combining two chapters into one... Don't know how that would work out though. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Hiccup opened the door just in time to see Astrid doubling over and throwing up on the grass.

He jumped back, as did the Thorston twins.

'What…?'

'She pricked herself on a Nadder spike,' Ruffnut said, and threw a bundle at him, with hit him on the face. 'That's willow bark. For her fever. You do know how to brew the tea, right?'

All Vikings knew since they were five. It was a very important knowledge after all. 'Yes… but…' said Hiccup.

'Good. She'd probably be throwing up throughout the night, and she'll be burning up. Nothing serious, it'd all go away in a day… or two,' Ruffnut said, smirking at the horror on Hiccup's face. 'Well, see you,' She grabbed her brother and left.

Astrid was still heaving on the lawn. Hiccup hesitated, then set the bundle on the table and reached out for her.

'Don't touch me,' she swung at him, and missed. The fact that she missed alarmed him. He caught her wrist and held on; when she jerked but failed to escape his grip, his alarm heightened.

'C'mon, Astrid, let's get you into bed,' he said worriedly.

'I can walk on my _own_,' she wiped her mouth with a shaky hand, and pushed past him.

She didn't collapse on the stairs. It was a good thing; since Hiccup was sure he wouldn't be able to move her if she did. He followed her upstairs with the bundle, at loss. What was he supposed to do? He had been thinking about the excuses he would make, and was prepare to grovel for forgiveness. This wasn't part of the plan.

He didn't function well without plans.

Granted, his plans never functioned well, either.

Astrid collapsed onto the bed. Oh man, this was bad. She wasn't even pretending to be tough anymore. Hiccup hurried over to stoke the small fire in the fireplace, and put a pot of water over it for the tea. He had the presence of mind to put a bucket by the bed, just in case Astrid got sick again.

She looked green, and her skin looked clammy in the fire light. Hiccup had never seen her look so weak before. It scared him.

'C'mon,' he murmured, 'let's get you… comfortable, okay?'

'Leave me alone,' Astrid demanded faintly.

'Sure. Just one moment, let me get these first,' he pulled off her boots. Treat her as a patient, he chanted in his mind. Just a patient, just _anyone _apart from Astrid. Hands trembling, he helped her remove the armor parts of her clothes, and, after some hesitation, released her hair from its knot so that she'd be more comfortable.

She opened her eyes, and in her weakened state, managed to promise death in her glare. 'I'm going to kill you when I get back on my feet,'

'Okay,' he gulped, and when she shivered, he piled the furs over her body and touched her forehead.

'You're burning up,' he hurried to his corner and picked up his furs, dumping them on her too. He threw the herbs Ruffnut had supplied into the simmering pot. 'Just ah… wait a few minutes, the tea's almost…' he was interrupted by a horrible retching sound. Astrid was leaning over the bed and seemed to be heaving up her internal organs.

'Um,' instinctively, he grabbed handfuls of her hair so it wouldn't end up dangling into the bucket. He had imagined getting his hands in Astrid's hair, but not like this. Seeing one of those string things she used to tie her hair, he used it to loop her hair haphazardly into a ponytail behind her head. 'I'll get you some water,'

What else could he do? He thought as he handed Astrid the water for her to rinse out her mouth. How do you take care of a sick wife whom you'd had a crush on since forever and who hated you? She wasn't going to die, that was a relief, but she had promised to kill _him _after she got better.

'This… is all… your fault,' Astrid mumbled.

'Sorry,' He had no idea what she was talking about, but agreeing might make his death a little less painful.

'You… _ran_… away,' she accused.

'Can we talk about that later?' She looked as though she was going to faint. 'Here,' he pushed a mug of tea into her hands. 'Drink this,'

'It… might come back up,'

'Drink it anyway,'

'Open the window,' Astrid told him.

'But… it'll be cold,' Hiccup said. It was summer for Berk, well, as _summer_ as Berk could hope to get, but that wasn't saying much since they were only a few degrees south of Freezing-to-Death.

'Don't care. I'll… never be able to keep… anything _down_ when I can… smell _that_,' she spared the bucket by the bed a disgusted glance.

She had a point. The room did smell faintly unpleasant. Hiccup opened the window, and at once a cold breeze blew in. the smell dissipated, but the temperature dropped several degrees. Astrid buried herself further into the furs until only her eyes and hair were in sight.

Helpless, Hiccup blew out the candles near the bed and lit others around his workbench. Since his furs were now unavailable, he couldn't go to sleep; besides, he was sure he needed to tend to Astrid throughout the night. Maybe he could do some sketches, or think about if there were any further improvements in Toothless' artificial tailfin that he could make.

The retching noise reached his ears again. Hiccup got up dutifully to hand Astrid another mug of water. Then, because the bucket looked to be almost half full, he took it downstairs and outside the house to empty and clean it.

Astrid was back under the furs when he got back. She looked tired and miserable. 'There you go, all clean. Knock yourself out,' he said cheerfully, then flinched when Astrid glared at him. 'Right, bad joke. Sorry,'

He fed her tea, which came back up. He did it again, and the same thing happened. He alternated between working on his sketch, feeding her tea, and cleaning the bucket. By the fourth time he came back with a clean bucket, it was well after midnight, his eyes were stinging with fatigue; and Astrid looked as though she had shrunk in front of his eyes. Her face was flushed and damp, and she was shivering like a leaf in the wind.

Tentatively, he pushed back her bangs and laid his palm on her forehead. She still had a raging fever, but relief welled in him when her eyes opened and fired daggers at him. 'Guess not much of the tea stayed in you,' he said sympathetically. She looked very small and vulnerable under the furs, and he mentally debated with himself if he should run over to the Hofferson house to call her mother over.

'Should I ask your mum to come over?' he asked.

At the mention of her mother, her eyes became alarmingly over-bright. 'Don't cry,' he blurted, horrified. If Astrid Hofferson –he still had trouble associating the name Haddock with Astrid- cried it would be the end of the world as Hiccup knew it.

'I'm not crying!' she hissed hoarsely, blinking rapidly. 'I'm just really cold,'

'Maybe if you drink more willow bark tea…' Hiccup suggested lamely.

'It'll just come back up. I just want to sleep,' Astrid murmured, closing her eyes and hugging herself.

He hesitated, and then hesitated some more. Astrid would kill him if he put his thought into action. But then she had already promised to kill him. And he was tired, as was she. And there seemed to be no other way. He walked over to his workbench and blew out the remaining candles.

'I'm going to try something, okay?' he said. She didn't even respond, and just lay there with her eyes closed. But she shifted and looked over her shoulder at him when he climbed awkwardly onto the other side of the bed.

'What are you doing?' she said. Even her voice sounded weak.

Summoning all his courage, he slid under the furs and pressed close to Astrid's back, easing down until he was spooning her. She stiffened. '_What _are you doing?' her voice turned dangerous, and Hiccup had the feeling that he had just dug his own grave.

'Trying to keep you warm,' he muttered, and shifted a little so that he could put his chin on the top of her head. Cautiously, he put an arm around her, drawing himself closer. She was uncomfortably warm, radiating heat like a furnace. Her back was a straight rod, her body stiff against his.

'I'm not going to do anything,' he muttered, 'and I' not the plague. It's just for the night. I know you hate me, but you're stuck with me for the time being,' Her shivers had lessened somewhat, and he took at as a good sign. 'See? You're warmer already,'

If it were possible, she seemed to stiffen further. For a moment they lay there, Hiccup searching his mind for something to say, while wondering if he should just give up and leave her to freeze to death. Then suddenly she turned herself around in one swift motion, grabbed him and clung.

Hiccup thought he yelped like dog, but hoped Astrid didn't hear it. The girl of his dreams was wrapped around him like an octopus, her feet and hands and nose freezing, the rest of her burning. She moved her head against him, and buried her face into his neck with a little sigh.

That simple action –just a search for warmth - had an immediate tugging effect on his heart. Instantaneous, and devastating.

'I'm still going to kill you,' she muttered.

'I don't doubt you,' Hiccup said, trying to keep his voice light and teasing. 'Even though right now you look like you can go two rounds with me and lose,'

She punched him, though it didn't hurt much. 'Ah. You feel better already,' he said. She had stopped shivering.

'I'm warning you. I have a knife somewhere on my person. If you do… anything, you'd be missing some very important parts,' Astrid said flatly.

'Ah,' Hiccup cleared his throat. He believed her. 'Won't dream of it,'

'And if you mention this to… anyone, I'll…'

He sighed. 'I promise I won't say anything. Now will you just get some sleep?'

'I might throw up on you,' she said bluntly.

'I really hope you won't,'

Suddenly he knew. She was embarrassed, and trying to cover it up. Maybe it wasn't aversion to him that made her voice and body so stiff; maybe it was the fact that she was weak and vulnerable, and she hated _that_. Giving up, Hiccup put his arms around her and drew her closer. He was never going to get a chance like this anymore. This would be the only time he could hold his wife; he might as well enjoy it.

'Don't worry. I won't be mentioning this, ever,' he rubbed her arm. 'Just sleep. Call if you need anything,'

He kept rubbing her arm, until she finally relaxed, slumping fully against him. Her breathing deepened and slowly evened out. Tentatively, he pressed his lips to her hair. When she didn't react, he knew she was asleep and did it again. She smelled like honeysuckle, and fresh grass.

He was in love with his wife. Really in love. With a sigh he closed his eyes and wished for sleep to take him. Tomorrow would come, and then he'd figure out where to go from here.


	19. Chapter 19

In which Astrid is convinced that, to start a real relationship with Hiccup, she needs to make the first move.

And Snotlout has a revelation.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

Astrid woke up slowly, in stages. She felt weak and disoriented, but the fever was gone and so was the urge to retch out her guts. She was still wrapped around Hiccup; luckily he was asleep and spared her the embarrassment. He was too thin, she thought with a scowl, his bones dug into her; but he was warm, and strangely, it felt sort of comfortable to be lying like this, with him.

Aghast, she slowly untangled herself and got up. Hiccup gave a soft grunt, but didn't wake. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and she felt a pang of guilt.

For a moment she just sat there on the bed and stared at him. He wasn't bad-looking, really. His eyes were green, she knew, the one feature he shared with his father. And although he was a little shorter than she was, he would hit a growth-spurt soon and shoot up. He was fourteen, after all, and two months older than she was.

Oh, he was two months older. Funny, she had forgotten that. There had been a period of time in their childhood when she had remembered everything about Hiccup.

She had missed the Hiccup of her childhood, but she realized now he hadn't changed much. He was still the young boy who had shared his toys with her, told her his dreams. Shared her grief when her father was paralyzed and his mother died; both consequences of the same heist. It had been the first and last time they had seen each other cry. After that, Astrid threw herself into training as a dragon killer, and Hiccup began his inventions that focused on killing dragons. Different approaches to the same goal.

He was still the Hiccup who had once been her best friend.

She had to get out of the house. She couldn't deal with all these… _feelings _swimming in her. Astrid got up, swayed a little as the world spun slowly. Shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness, she had the presence of mind to at least leave Hiccup a note. _Gone to see my parents_.

She fled. Maybe if she left Hiccup far enough behind, this strange emotions would be left behind too.

It was already near midday when she stepped out of the house. People greeted her cheerfully. The news that she had pricked herself on a Nadder spike had spread through the village, and everyone was stopping her to congratulate her for being 'alive'. The walk to her old home took three times longer than usual.

Her mother was waiting when she walked up the three steps to the door. 'Astrid, lass,'

'Mum,' and because her voice came out shaky, she walked into her mother's arms.

'There now, lass. You're alright. What's troubling you?'

'Astrid, my girl!' bellowed her father from his wheelbarrow. 'Come here and let me look at you,'

She let her father hug her, and he inspected her from head to toe. 'Well, you look real lively for someone poisoned by a Nadder. Hiccup took good care of you, huh?'

She flushed, and her brothers made gagging noises in the background.

Her mother laughed. 'Out! All of you!' she turned to her father. 'Take the boys out. Fishing, or something. I want to talk to Astrid,'

'Come, boys. Listen to your mother,' her father laughed, turning his improved wheelbarrow around and heading for the door. Let's grab the fishing poles and see if we can catch ourselves some dinner,'

'How come you always do what Mum tells you to do?' one of her brothers complained.

'Because I'm smart that way. How else would your mother cook for me and mend my clothes and give me children?' her father guffawed.

Astrid watched them leave. She was lucky. Her family was affectionate, and loved each other. She knew that a lot of other families on Berk, and indeed, a lot of families in the Viking world, did not share the same luck. Arranged marriages like her own were common, and many couples did not progress further than reluctant tolerance for each other in their entire lives together.

Her mother pointed her to a chair, and gave her a mug – her old mug- of tea. The older woman said nothing, just waited while Astrid searched for a way to put her thoughts into words.

'Mum, you didn't really know Dad when you were married, did you?' she asked. Her parents' marriage had been arranged, just like hers had been. But her parents turned out just fine. 'So how did you…' she could ask, because this was her mother, and mothers knew everything. 'How did you fall in love with him?'

'Her mother smiled knowingly. 'I don't know, lassie. I didn't even know I was falling. But I found out I was in love when he left on a fishing trip, and a storm blew. The ship did not come back as sceduled, and there was a hole in my heart. I knew then,' she winked, 'Then came morning, the ship came in. the first thing your father did when he jumped off the ship was to spin me around. I knew then that I was loved, too,'

'Dad never… _ran_ away from you, did he?' Astrid said in a low voice.

'Of course he did,' her mother laughed. 'That coward, we would be fighting, I'd pick up an axe, and straight out of the door he went, every darn time!'

'But did he ever… run when you're _not _fighting?' Astrid asked. There was something in her chest, something sad and heavy, she didn't know what to make of it.

She could tell that her mother was studying her. The older woman reached out to touch her hand. 'What happened between you and Hiccup, Astrid?'

'He ran away from me, last night,' Astrid blurted. 'I don't know what happened. We were at the forge, and we were talking, and then he just _left_. Then he looked so worried last night when I was ill, and he… he…' but she couldn't say it, how attentive he was, how _concerned_. She flushed, and she looked away. 'I'm just confused,'

'Oh, lassie…'

'He's been acting very weird lately. He's not… not himself,'

'Yes. I've heard about Hiccup the Magnificent and his prowess in the ring,' her mother winked.

'It isn't that,' She wasn't even jealous of his being top in class anymore. 'He doesn't spend time with us anymore, he's always disappearing somewhere. He doesn't talk to me, or to any of us, he doesn't even sit with us in the Great Hall,'

It was like they were no longer important to him; like _she _was no longer important to him.

'Lass, listen to yourself,' her mother interjected, 'You wouldn't give Hiccup the time of day when he was tripping over his own feet around you. And now that he no longer appears to think the sun rises and sets with you, you're not okay with that, either? You can't have it both ways, you know,'

'No. I mean yes. I… I don't know,' She narrowed her eyes at her mother. 'Wait. You think Hiccup had a crush on me?'

'Astrid. A blind bat can see the boy has feelings for you. In fact, that was why your father and I accepted Stoick's offer,'

Astrid shook her head. 'I thought you accepted because of the wedding gifts,'

'Well, the gifts were a plus, I'm not going to lie,' her mother shrugged, and sounded just like her father. 'But it was mostly because it was Hiccup. Believe me, if it were Snotlout, we wouldn't have said yes even if they'd tripled the offer. There is one major difference between those two boys,'

'Hiccup has a brain?' Astrid guessed.

'I'd admit that Snotlout lad isn't the sharpest axe in the village,' said her mother primly. 'But that's not what I was talking about. Hiccup cares about you,'

Astrid blinked. Didn't Snotlout care about her? Granted, she could do without his _caring_, but he wouldn't have flirted so insistently if he didn't care, right?

'Snotlout cared about what he saw. Hiccup now, he takes the time to get to know _you. _I've wanted you to have a chance with Hiccup ever since you were both ten,'

'Ten?' Astrid said faintly.

'When he made you that axe you so loved,'

Her axe. Odin, she had threatened Hiccup with her axe. 'I thought… I thought _you _gave it to me for my birthday,'

'We would have if we could afford it,' her mother reached forward to cup her face. 'You were nearing ten, such a small thing, with so much determination and energy. And you had been so brave about everything that had happened to your father. We wanted a weapon for you, but we weren't able to afford all that fine metal. No. it was Hiccup who came over with that axe day before your birthday. The thing was almost as big as he was, and as heavy. He could barely lift it. But he made it, because he knew you wanted one,'

Astrid felt like slime to have ignored Hiccup all these years. 'I think… I think Hiccup doesn't think about me… like that, anymore, Mum,' the heavy, sad feeling was back. Did he? He _had _taken such good care of her last night, but that could be because he was just caring by nature. She couldn't forget the way he had looked outside of the forge the night before, when he had seemed to want to be anywhere apart from there with her, when he couldn't wait to get away from her that he actually leapt over the window.

'Nonsense,' snorted her mother, 'If you believe that, then you must've got your father's brain. It's a little slow,' she said fondly. 'Hiccup broke into a real grave for you, didn't he? Gave you that ruby-encrusted sword. Added all those fine weapons in your morning gift. And he didn't even bed you, because you didn't want him to,'

'Mum!' Astrid yelped.

'What? Think I won't know a trick when I saw one?' her mother snorted. 'That Hiccup's clever, but that still doesn't beat _experience_. I know you two didn't consummate your marriage. You fooled the men, but you didn't fool me. I don't blame Hiccup. I was there, and you were as willing to be bedded as a dragon was willing to be killed,'

She couldn't believe she was listening to this. Astrid buried her face in her hands and groaned. Her mother took her hands and lowered them.

'Go home, lass. Be a wife,'

'I don't know how to be one,' Astrid mumbled. She could say that too, because it was her mother.

'Start by being a friend, and since it's Hiccup we're talking about, the rest will come,' And her mother kissed her on the forehead and shooed her out of the Hofferson house.

Go home. Yes, the Haddock house was home now.

* * *

Snotlout was looking for Astrid. Hey, she had been _poisoned. _He knew that Astrid was Hiccup's wife now, but years of boyhood crush didn't go away that easily.

And could anyone blame him? No one was as hot as Astrid.

And he had heard that Astrid got poisoned while looking for Hiccup. So Astrid must be pretty mad at Hiccup right now. This would be the perfect opportunity to show some manliness and maybe Astrid might regret marrying Hiccup after all.

Though that would be a bit hard since Hiccup was a great dragon fighter now, but Snotlout tried not to think about that part.

He had knocked on the door of the Haddock house, but was told by a very bleary Hiccup that Astrid had left. A part of him relaxed; Astrid was alright if she was already walking about. No man wanted the girl he had a crush on to die.

But where was Astrid? Hiccup didn't tell him, and he didn't feel like going back to the Haddock house to ask.

Gobber had canceled their lessons for the day, since Astrid and Hiccup weren't attending. Suddenly Snotlout had a lot of free time on his hands. He wandered around the village alone. The Thorston twins had been recruited by one of their many uncles to man the deck of a fishing boat. Fishlegs was off doing stuff that Snotlout had no desire to find out about.

The dynamics have changed in their little group. They were closer now, which was expected since they spent so much time together. Fishlegs wasn't actually so bad. The geek was really strong, and Ruffnut, a girl who punched Snotlout at every opportunity, seemed to _like _Fishlegs. And Snotlout was now seeing his cousin in a whole new light.

He kind of regretted coming up with the name Hiccup the Useless back when they were children, maybe Hiccup wouldn't remember it was him. His screw-up of a cousin was now the top dragon fighter of their class, and he _got the hottest girl on the island_. He had everything Snotlout ever wanted. It was kind of hard not to respect that.

He stepped onto the dock, and saw Astrid's father sitting there with a fishing rod, humming cheerfully and keeping a sharp eye on his two sons, who were wrestling each other on the bridge. He should know where Astrid was. Snotlout was just about to step forward, when he saw Hiccup hurrying up to the older man.

'Mr. Hofferson, hey,' his cousin actually squeaked. Huh. Some things just didn't change, great dragon fighter or not.

'Hello, Hiccup! Call me dad!' Old Man Hofferson boomed happily.

'Ah… um. Er. D-dad,' stammered Hiccup. 'I'm just wondering… Astrid said she wanted to talk to you… so…'

'The lass is with her mother, we boys got kicked out of the house,' Old Man Hofferson gestured to the boys rolling about on the ground.

'Oh. So she's alright? She's… not still ill, is she?' Hiccup said anxiously. Man, his cousin was whipped.

'She looks more tired than usual. But the lass is fine,' Old Man Hofferson patted Hiccup on the shoulder and nearly knocked him over.

'Well… good. I'm… ah…' said Hiccup.

'Gotta thank you for taking care of my girl, Hiccup,'

'I didn't do much,' Hiccup actually blushed. Snotlout was embarrassed for him. Vikings didn't blush.

'Oh you did plenty,' Old Man Hofferson winked. 'Got my daughter all confused. That's a great thing. She'd been too focused for too long,'

Snotlout didn't understand, from the look on Hiccup's face, his brainy cousin didn't understand either. Snotlout felt a little better.

'Erm… isn't being focused a good thing?' Hiccup said.

'Not that sort of focus. My daughter needs a life outside of killing dragons. She's doing it for all the wrong reasons. Dragons should be killed out of necessity. Not out of revenge,'

'Em…' Hiccup glanced over at Old Man Hofferson's useless feet.

'I'd never walk again, Hiccup, lad,' the older man said bluntly, 'my greatest regret is that my daughter would waste her entire life killing dragons because of it,'

'So… Astrid hates dragons, huh?' Hiccup said faintly. For some reason, Snotlout thought he sounded sad.

'You should understand that. Dragons killed your mother,' Old Man Hofferson was never one to beat around the bush.

Hiccup went even paler. Snotlout felt a pang of sadness. He had liked his Aunt Valhallarama.

'Yes they did. But I'm sure they didn't mean to,' Hiccup said. He sounded utterly miserable.

'Of course they didn't mean to. When someone waves an axe at you, you defend yourself. That's kill or be killed,' the older man nodded. 'See? This is what I'm talking about. I want Astrid to be like you. You lost your mother, but you're not obsessing with killing the lot of them because of it,'

'I used to be,' Hiccup admitted, 'but then… I… something… changed my mind,'

'Hope you can change Astrid's mind,' Old Man Hofferson patted Hiccup's shoulder again, but this time his cousin was braced for it and avoided pitching into the sea.

'I don't know if I could… I just… I just want Astrid to be happy,' Hiccup said, 'I... don't really think she's happy with me,'

'She's getting there, lad,' Old Man Hofferson said absently.

Hiccup didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything. He bid his father-in-law goodbye and came walking back. Snotlout didn't have time to hide; Hiccup rounded the curve and nearly bumped into him.

'Snotlout,' he said, eyes narrowing. 'Been eavesdropping, haven't you?'

Snotlout didn't see anything wrong with that. He shrugged. 'You know, if you can't make Astrid happy, I can,'

Hiccup looked at him for a moment. 'No, Snotlout, you can't,' he said, and walked on ahead.

'Why can't I? I'm strong, I have an entire basement to myself in my house. I'll be better than you at dragon training soon,' Snotlout said, hurrying to catch up with him.

'Because you don't know Astrid at all,' Hiccup sighed. 'You don't pay any attention to her,'

'Of course I do! I've been paying attention to her since we were twelve!' Snotlout said defensively.

'No, you've been asking her out since we were twelve. You haven't been _paying _attention to her,'

'And _you _have been?' Snotlout shot back.

Hiccup looked at him, a little defiant, a lot more sad. 'Yes,' he said simply. 'And I still haven't figured out what makes her happy,'

Then he walked away, leaving Snotlout with the sudden understanding that whatever feelings he had for Astrid, maybe they were unmatched for those Hiccup had for her.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

Since Astrid was okay, Hiccup went to the cove. He had made the last adjustment to the tailfin, figured out the six possible positions of the fin, and had finally summoned enough courage to attempt a flight.

A real flight, over the ocean, above the clouds. Hey what was the worst that could happen? Falling to his death? Well, what was his father's favorite phrase again? Oh yeah. _We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard_.

The flight with Toothless was very nerve-wracking, and completely exhilarating. Hiccup did quite okay from the start - Toothless had to slap him with one of his ear-flaps only _once_. Then he managed to fall off the dragon, and got slapped again, this time by Toothless' tail. Next they nearly smashed into the ground, _then_ nearly crashed into the rock pillars.

It took staring death in the face for Hiccup to realize that sometimes following instinct was the right way to go.

It took a dinner of fish with Toothless and a bunch of Terrible Terrors for Hiccup's heart rate to return to normal. And he had learned one more thing about dragons; they weren't so fireproof on the inside.

Now, at night, as he neared the house, his heart was speeding up again.

'Oh Thor, help me,' he murmured. He was going to see his wife. What was he supposed to say? She had promised to kill him. He didn't exactly believe that, but whatever Astrid do to him, it would be painful for sure. Hiccup just wished it would be _quick_.

He pushed open the bedroom door, and Astrid was sitting up in bed, holding her axe. Hiccup gulped.

'Hi… er… why aren't you asleep yet…?'

Astrid stood up, put down her axe, and grabbed him by the shirtfront. 'Sit,' She shoved him onto the bed. 'Now, Hiccup. We have to talk,'

'Er…' that didn't sound good, but at least she wasn't swinging her axe yet.

'About last night,' Astrid began.

'Erm… I hadn't told anyone about you… and me…' Hiccup stammered. Astrid flushed.

'I meant the part in front of the forge,' she snapped.

Ah, here it came. 'I… had something… I had to do… very important… couldn't be put… off…'

'That's what you said every time we tried to talk to you,' Astrid snarled. 'You go out of your way to avoid us. You don't want to talk, you don't even sit with us during meals…'

'I thought that's what you guys would want,' Hiccup said, thinking of all the times he had tried to get close to the others, only to be turned away. Sure, he was getting very popular now with all the tricks he used in the ring, but those were _tricks_, not fighting skill. Their interest in him was misplaced.

'You're avoiding me,' Astrid said, and suddenly, to his surprise, she looked a little sad. 'Do you hate me, Hiccup?'

'What? Of course not,' he didn't stutter this time.

'Then why are you avoiding me?' Astrid demanded.

'I'm not…'

'Don't lie,' Astrid said bluntly.

Ah. _No Astrid, I haven't been avoiding you. You see, I'm hiding a Night Fury in the forest so it has kind of taken up most of my time… _But he _had _been avoiding Astrid, staying away from the house far longer than needed. He sighed. 'Okay, Astrid, here's the thing. I've been avoiding you because I figured the less you see of me, the less annoying you would think I am,'

Astrid just looked at him, frowning, arms crossed.

'I know this marriage isn't what you want. My dad sort of forced it on you. I'm just trying to make this as painless as possible for you,'

'Is this marriage what _you _want?' Astrid interrupted.

_It had been the greatest wish all my life_. Hiccup thought it best to keep his mouth shut. He focused on the wall behind Astrid and said nothing.

'Are you afraid of me?' Astrid asked.

'Oh yes, he said fervently. But to his surprise, Astrid didn't look as gratified as he thought she would be.

'So you took care… I mean, you were so _nice _to me… last night… because you're afraid of me, is that right?' she said sharply.

Hiccup was going to say 'Yeah, that's right, what gave it away?', but something told him he needed to be serious about this. Whatever his answer was, it seemed to be important to Astrid. She was looking at him so earnestly, and he had only ever seen her look like that during dragon training.

Maybe honesty was best this time. 'I took care… I mean, I was nice to you because I wanted to be,' It was a whole lot easier to be speaking to the wall over Astrid's shoulder. 'I like being nice to people who are important to me. And you're important,'

'I'm important?' Astrid repeated.

'Yes,' he said. But she only looked at him, saying nothing. Sudden frustration swamped Hiccup. What did she want from him?

'What do you mean by _important_?' Astrid prompted.

Oh, for the love of… 'I've been in love with you since before I can remember,' he said flatly, 'That's why I was _nice_. That's why I'm always so stupid, and messing up so badly, every time you're around. I'm very surprised you couldn't tell,'

Astrid looked as if he'd hit her with a hammer.

'I know you didn't want this marriage thing,' Hiccup went on, throwing caution to the winds. What was the point, anyway? 'But this has always been a fantasy of mine, so now I feel bad because I'm sort of enjoying being married to you,' No he wasn't, not really. 'I'm trying to make this as painless as possible, so when the time comes for you to ask for a divorce, at least you might still have a kind thought for me,'

The room was suddenly too small, too quiet, too cold. Hiccup wanted to push Astrid aside and race out of the house. He could spend the night with Toothless in the cove. Was it cowardly for a guy to want to run after baring his heart?

'You… you want a divorce?' Astrid said faintly.

'I'm assuming _you _would,' And he was tired, so very tired. 'Astrid, it's been a long day. I'd really like some sleep, so if you'd excuse me…'

He made a move to gather up some furs. But Astrid leapt up and pushed him back down. 'You're staying right here,' she blurted, and in the candle light flushed to the roots of her hair.

'Wha…?'

'You can have that side of the bed,' Astrid said without looking at him, still blushing, 'I'll take this side. This is a big bed after all,'

'Erm,' He didn't think she knew what she was doing. He was a _teenage male_, for Odin's sake, and she was his _wife_, and the girl he had fallen for. She really didn't expect him to just _sleep _with her on the same bed, right?

'I still have that knife,' she warned, eyes firing, as though sensing the direction of his thoughts. 'If you move over to my side of the bed, I'll start by cutting off your…' her eyes traveled meaningfully south.

'Okay. Okay,' he held up his hand defensively. Hiccup lay down cautiously, careful to leave a large empty space in the middle. The furs smelled like her.

'Hiccup,' she was still looking at him, 'When you're ready, you'd tell me what you're hiding from me, right?'

'Um…' he stared at her, blinking. He thought of Toothless, his best friend, large and as playful as a puppy; and Astrid, who hated dragons, swinging her axe and charging. His best friend and his wife.

But Astrid was looking at him in a way she had never done before.

'Yes. I will,' he heard himself say.

'Okay,' she said, and lay down.

Hiccup had the distinct feeling that they had reached and passed a milestone in their marriage. There was now a flicker of hope in his future with Astrid.

Hey, they were sleeping in the same bed now.

* * *

Hiccup beat everyone in dragon training again. Ruffnut was no longer surprised. What did surprise her was that Astrid didn't fly into a jealous rage and threatened to dismember Hiccup this time. Ruffnut was almost disappointed.

Hiccup disappeared right after training. Ruffnut thought he might have done it to get away from his new fans. A number of those fans were girls. Seriously? The boy was married. Though Ruffnut rather thought she would be one of those fans too, if Astrid wasn't her best friend and if she was less loyal.

Being a good friend took all the fun out of things.

'Hey Astrid, seen Hiccup?' she asked as she jogged to catch up to Astrid. The other girl was scowling fiercely at the crowd of girls in front of the forge. Hiccup, of course, was not there.

'No,' Astrid hissed. Ruffnut sniggered. 'Lost your husband?'

'So you _do _remember Hiccup's married, to _me_,' Astrid bared her teeth.

Huh. This was unexpected, and interesting. 'Suddenly possessive, aren't you?' Ruffnut raised her eyebrow.

'You can help me remind all those _girls_ that Hiccup's already _married_,' Astrid swung her axe into a post. Ruffnut moved deftly out of range as bits of wood flew in all directions.

'It's that time of the month for you, isn't it?' she raised the other eyebrow.

'It's not… argh!' Astrid slapped a hand to her own face, 'I'm crazy. Ignore me,'

Oh yes, this was very interesting indeed. 'Ah. Astrid Hofferson – oh wait, _Haddock _– is jealous because Hiccup has girl fans. Nope, I'm not ignoring this. So you're finally warming up to Hiccup? He isn't as useless as you thought huh?'

'Hiccup was never useless,' Astrid muttered. 'And those _girls _are fawning over him because now he's a big dragon fighter. They don't _know _anything about him,'

Ruffnut thought it best to pull her friend away from the forge and the crowd of girls. She loved a fight just like any Viking, but having Astrid strolling into the crowd while swinging her axe was a bit too intense even for her. 'Then why have _you _suddenly changed your mind about him?'

'We… talked,' Astrid said.

Ruffnut smirked. 'I hope _talk _is code for…' she made a suggestive gesture with her hands.

'No,' Astrid snapped, 'get your mind out of the gutter. We haven't proceeded to that part of our relationship yet,'

Ruffnut blinked at her. 'You really have changed your mind about him, haven't you? You're admitting that there will be _that part _of your relationship in the future, when before the very idea made you ill,'

'Hiccup is… I don't know… deeper, better… wiser, than we'd given him credit for,' Astrid said.

Ruffnut moved a little closer. 'So, you talked. What about?'

'Promise you won't tell anyone,'

'Here we go again,' Ruffnut rolled her eyes. 'Promise. Especially my brother. So?'

'Hiccup said he loves me,' Astrid said in a low voice, and blushed. Something in her eyes told Ruffnut she wasn't displeased by it.

If Astrid had expected a big reaction from Ruffnut, she'd have to be disappointed. 'Uh. Anything else?' Ruffnut said.

'Isn't _that _enough?' Astrid said incredulously.

'Hey, Everyone knows Hiccup's in love with you,' Ruffnut rapped her friend's head with her knuckles. 'Get your mind off dragon training for a few minutes and you'd see it too,'

'Well, no one's ever said that to me,' Astrid said defensively, 'You can't know how that made me feel,'

'Believe me, not everyone who'd say that means it,' Ruffnut scoffed, 'I don't think you'd be all starry-eyed if Snotlout was the one who said that to you. I think the real reason why you're so staggered is that you know Hiccup actually meant it when he said it,' she shrugged. 'Actions do speak louder than words,'

Astrid looked surprised. 'You sound really grownup all of a sudden,'

'Please. We grew up together. I've seen how the boys fawn over you,' Ruffnut rolled her eyes. 'I've had time to _study _their approaches. It's an education, I can tell you. And I'm confident that I've learned enough, so when my turn comes, I'd know who'd treat me the way Hiccup treats you,'

Astrid blinked at her, and smiled slyly. 'You mean how Fishlegs treats you?' she said sweetly.

'Huh? Fishlegs? What are you talking about?' Ruffnut stared at her.

Astrid looked positively smug now, and rapped her on her head. 'Apparently you see better when you're on the sidelines. Get _your _mind off beating your brother up for a few minutes, and you'd see it too,'

Ruffnut opened her mouth to retort, but was distracted by another crowd, this time of boys. Instinctively, the two girls pressed together and hid behind a house when they saw that it was Dogsbreath's gang. Dogsbreath was the village bully, a few years older, with his own followers. And they were doing what they always did whenever they couldn't find a human victim; they were dragon-baiting.

This time the victim was a pink Terrible Terror, already bruised, already bleeding. Chained to a post and muzzled, it could only wiggle and growl when the boys took turns to kick and beat it with a stick.

'Man, that is just sick, Ruffnut said.

'Yeah. Why don't they just kill it?' Astrid agreed. Ruffnut grinned. 'You wanna take them on?'

Before Astrid could answer, a smaller figure darted into the scene. 'Stop it! What are you _doing?'_

'Hiccup!' Astrid hissed. 'What is he thinking?'

Ruffnut watched in astonishment as Hiccup pushed past the older boys and dropped to his knees in front of the Terror. Ignoring the muffled growls, he gripped the Terror firmly behind the front legs, unchained it, and slipped the muzzle off.

'Why don't you pick on someone your own size?' standing up with the Terror clutched protectively in his arms, Hiccup faced the crowd with righteous wrath.

'Does he have a death wish?' Ruffnut said in wonder. Had Hiccup forgotten that not long ago _he _had been the most sought-after victim of Dogsbreath's gang? And what was he _doing_, defending a _dragon_?

'So you're volunteering?' Dogsbreath laughed, 'come on then, great dragon warrior, let's see how you fight outside the ring,'

Astrid gripped her axe, Ruffnut readied her spear. But before either of them could jump out and rush to Hiccup's rescue, someone else rose to the challenge. The Terror, whom Hiccup had hidden behind his back as soon as Dogsbreath reached for him, suddenly leapt onto Hiccup's shoulder, snarled, and hissed.

'Oh look, Useless' got himself a new friend! And it's _terrifying_!' Dogsbreath laughed.

Ruffnut had a second to see the Odin-you-really-are-stupid look on Hiccup's face before the Terror blasted Dogsbreath in the face.

'By Thor!' Astrid said, stopping in her tracks, completely stunned. There was a lot of shouting, and two more blasts from the Terror before the tormentors scattered. Ruffnut and Astrid pressed themselves against the wall as the boys ran past, yelling. One had a burnt tunic, several had singed eyebrows. Dogsbreath, howling, looked really strange without his eyebrows, sideburns, and beard.

'What just happened?' Astrid said, gawping. They stared from their hiding place. Hiccup, smiling, was cuddling the Terror, scratching it under the chin; and the thing was _purring_.

'C'mon, little guy. You'd do much better in the forest,' Hiccup told it, and left with the Terror snuggling contently under his chin.

'Did the… did the dragon just…' Astrid said weakly.

'Yeah,' said Ruffnut, equally dumbfounded.

Hiccup had rescued a dragon, and it had _protected_ him.


	21. Chapter 21

Argh. Today's been hectic. Anyway, here's chapter 21.

Thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One**

What on Earth had possessed him to promise Astrid that he would tell her about Toothless?

He must have been temporarily insane. Love did weird things to your brain, Hiccup thought unhappily. So now he had to tell Toothless that he had promised to _give him away_ to a ferocious dragon-killing Viking because, well, she was his wife and he had been captivated by her eyes when he opened his big mouth.

He vowed to never look Astrid in the eye again.

Though that would be really hard. She had really beautiful eyes.

Argh. He certainly shouldn't be thinking about that now.

Before breaking this piece of news to Toothless, Hiccup stuffed the dragon with fresh fish. Hey, news like this warranted a hearty bribe. Then maybe Toothless wouldn't blast his hair off, or throw him into the sea the next time they went flying.

After the meal of fish and a thorough scratching, Toothless sprawled on the ground in a boneless heap in total dragon bliss. Hiccup sat down with his back against him and rubbed his hands together. Time to break the news.

'Remember when I told you I got married, bud?' he said, resting his head against Toothless as he stared up into the afternoon sky. It was peaceful in the cove. Now that he was a huge success in the ring, he could barely walk through the village without being swamped by his new fans. It was very alarming. Lying here with Toothless, where the only noises were the birds and insects and his own voice, now this was the life.

Well, it would be if he didn't have to worry about Toothless and Astrid killing each other.

Toothless grunted, turning his head around to look at Hiccup, and his incredulous expression said very clearly; _you mean that actually happened?_

'Ha. Ha. Very funny. Listen, I just want your opinion on this. Astrid –that's my wife- hates dragons. But I sort of promised her that I would… you know, tell her about you,' Somehow, Hiccup had gotten into the habit of talking to his dragon. Toothless seemed to understand every word, and even responded; so he no longer felt stupid doing it.

Toothless was responding now; by narrowing his eyes and giving a faint growl.

He really should have thought about bringing extra fish.

'I know. I know. I don't even know why I promised her that. I never really could deny her anything,' Hiccup sighed mournfully.

Toothless sniggered, and Hiccup could almost hear it; _you're so whipped_.

'It's just… she's important to me. And you're important to me too. The two of you are like separate parts of my life, and I'd really, really like it if I don't have to keep either of you hidden from each other anymore,'

Perhaps it was the seriousness of his tone; Toothless stopped his mocking and just stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

'You'd like her too, if you have the chance to get to know her. She's really dedicated, and focused, in everything she does; she's very kind too, but you need to dig under all the outward aggression to reach that part of her. And I think… I hope, if she could drop her prejudice against dragons and get to know _you_, she'd like you too,'

It had been just a little over two weeks since he had found Toothless, but it seemed as though he had known the dragon forever. Toothless was his best friend. He couldn't imagine life without him now. But he couldn't imagine life without Astrid either; even before their marriage, she had always been there, a light in his life, motivating him to push himself to be better.

'I won't bring her here unless I'm sure she's not going to hurt you,' Hiccup said solemnly. Toothless snorted, insulted. 'Yeah, yeah. I know you can take care of yourself, bud. I was just saying,' Man, Night Furies and their pride. Hiccup reached out and put his hand on the dragon's nose. 'So what do you say, Toothless? Think you can trust me enough?'

For a moment they looked at each other, and it was like that first day again, a boy and a dragon getting to know each other. Then Toothless drew back, rolled his eyes back into his head, and threw up half a fish in Hiccup's lap.

Hiccup laughed in relief and gave the dragon's head a fierce rub. 'Thanks, bud,'

Toothless looked at him meaningfully, then at the fish, then at him again. He stuck out his tongue at Hiccup, and the meaning was clear. _You're not getting away so easily. Eat the fish._

'What? Oh, come on!' Hiccup wailed.

He glared at Toothless; Toothless glared back. They had a staring contest, a silent battle of wills.

Then Toothless made a move to regurgitate more fish, and Hiccup threw up his arms in defeat. 'Oh alright!' he said sulkily, picking up the regurgitated fish in his lap. 'I'll be sneaking an eel into your meal one of these days,' he told Toothless, and Toothless cuffed him on the head with his tail and gave him a pointed look. _You got off easy, so quit complaining._

Hiccup bit into the fish. And Toothless sniggered gleefully.

* * *

Astrid couldn't stop thinking about Hiccup and the Terrible Terror. Dragons were horrible, thieving, fire-breathing monsters. She had been bought up knowing that. Dragons were to be killed on sight.

But she had watched a little dragon saving Hiccup from being beaten into a pulp. And all Hiccup had done was to release it from some chains. The dragon had recognized friend from foe, and when Hiccup was in trouble, it had come back to help. That was not the behavior of a mindless killing machine.

Astrid didn't know what to think, and confusion did not sit well with her. She had to talk to Hiccup.

She found Hiccup in the evening, at the forge. He was in the little workshop that was his personal corner, head on a table and rolling a piece of charcoal around.

She crossed her arms and blocked the door; she didn't think Hiccup would run this time, but it didn't hurt to make _sure_. 'Don't tell me you're still avoiding me. I thought we're past that,'

Hiccup sprang up. 'Astrid! Hi Astrid! Hi! Erm… what are… you doing… here…?' Out of the corner of her eye she saw him hastily pushing some sketches out of sight. Did it have something to do with his big secret?

Did his secret have anything to do with that strange, over-protective Terror?

'What are _you _doing here?' she countered, folding her arms.

'I'm… nothing! Just… thinking,' he stammered.

Couldn't do your thinking at home, huh?' Astrid said, spotting a book filled with sketches and reaching for it.

'It's not like that… um… Astrid,' Hiccup made a move to grab for the sketchbook.

'What? Is something highly confidential in here?' Astrid asked with a smirk. It was great being able to make Hiccup panic like this. It made her feel powerful, a different sort of powerful.

'Well, no,' Hiccup said cautiously, 'but you have to promise me you won't hit me, or anything,'

Now her curiosity was piqued. 'I don't make promises I can't keep,' she told him smugly, and opened the sketchbook.

She saw herself, sleeping, snuggled under the furs on their big bed.

Hiccup made a strangled sound in his throat and spread his arms, closing his eyes. 'Argh. Come on then. Make it fast,'

'You've been watching me sleep?' she said, narrowing her eyes.

'Not exactly,' Hiccup said nervously. 'You're usually asleep when I got back so it'd be the first thing I see when I enter the room. It's not like I stare on purpose… I'm not… stalker-ish,'

'Hmm,' reserving judgment, she turned the page, and was a little disappointed it wasn't her. It was the Thorston twins, locked in one of their battles with each other. She sat down on the stool Hiccup had vacated, and shifted a little so he could sit down on the table, his legs dangling beside her. Without thinking, she leaned back against his thigh, only realizing what she had done when he jumped.

Because she liked how nervous she was making him, she stayed where she was.

'You know, you're really good at this,' she turned the pages. Fishlegs, pouring over a book; Snotlout with his dad; Stoick with Gobber; Astrid with her brothers.

'Thank you,' he said quietly.

They sat like that, in strangely companionable silence, while Astrid flipped slowly through the entire book. She couldn't help thinking how nice it felt, to just sit here with him, in the soft yellow light from the two candles he had lit. It gave her a feeling of happiness she couldn't explain.

She had gone sappy; she should be horrified, but it seemed like too much effort.

'I don't think this is the only sketchbook you have,' she said softly, unwilling to destroy the quiet, serene atmosphere. 'Show me more,'

'Um,' Hiccup said intelligently. He hesitated, and she waited. With Hiccup, she would have to be patient, but it didn't bother her anymore. In fact, she liked the waiting, because the result was worth it. The result was just… Hiccup.

He handed her another sketchbook in silence. His whole life was in those sketches, and Astrid felt like she was rediscovering him as she thumbed through the pages. There were pages on his various inventions, with notes and calculations that Astrid didn't really understand. But she was more interested in the people he had drawn. Crowds in the Great Hall, people during the festivals. There were several pages depicting their little gang; but not one of them had him in it.

He had never been part of a crowd. He had always been on the sidelines, watching, waiting; maybe wishing.

The sketches radiated loneliness, making guilt and pain well in her chest.

'You should draw yourself in here,' she murmured, closing the book and handing it to him. 'Start by drawing a picture of you and me together, we'll hang it over the bed, or something,'

Hiccup stared at her in surprise, and she realized what she had just said. As the blush traveled up her neck, Hiccup smiled hopefully. 'Really?'

Everything in her seemed to melt. 'Sure. Why not?' So what if she was getting soft? It was Hiccup. She didn't need to be all tough and Viking-like with Hiccup.

He looked at her as though he was seeing her in a whole new light.

'Astrid. Can I ask you something?' he said slowly.

'Sure,'

'What do you think of this?' he said, and handed her another sketch. It was of a dragon, but one Astrid had never seen before. She had never seen wings that were so bat-like and _long_. And Hiccup had colored it black. She looked up at him, frowning. 'What is it?'

'That's a Night Fury,' he said softly, and gently drew the sketch away. 'Astrid, is there any way you can change your mind about hating dragons?'

She stared at him. The old Astrid inside her wanted to demand _what do you mean?_ _Dragons are supposed to be hated, killed on sight. It is the Viking way. How can you ask me to change my mind about hating them?_

But she remembered the Terrible Terror. And as she stared into his serious green eyes, she remembered his steady hand on her back when she vomited into a bucket; remembered his gentle patience as he dabbed at her forehead with a cloth. And she remembered the resignation in his voice when he had told her he loved her, as though he already knew the feeling was not reciprocated.

The rebuke died on her lips.

And then suddenly it dawned on her, why her father had said Hiccup reminded him of himself. They were both un-Viking-like, her father forced by circumstances, Hiccup forged by nature. They were both on the sidelines, watching, never a part of things. And so they _saw _better.

What had Hiccup seen? He had lost his mother because of dragons, so he must have hated dragons like she did. So what had he _seen _that had changed his mind?

She thought of the Terror, snarling, growling. And leaping to Hiccup's rescue.

She took a deep breath. 'Convince me,'

Hiccup touched her shoulder. He looked serious, and in his hands he held the sketches he had tried to hide from her. 'Why don't we go back home? I... I have something to tell you,'

_Finally_.

'Sure, let's go home,'


	22. Chapter 22

This is a short chapter, 'cause the next portion of the story is way too long to be attached to this and deserves its own chapter. It would be up soon, too. Yay!

Thanks for the reviews.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Hiccup told her everything. About the Night Fury; about the things he had learned - and later used in the ring - while getting to know the dragon. He showed her the sketches he made of Toothless and the artificial tail fin. He told her about the flight practices. He told her the real reason he had fled from her that night outside the forge. He described how it felt like to fly, to have the wind in his hair, to see the world from a dragon's point of view.

He told her about Toothless; arrogant, sarcastic, fun-loving, loyal, and his best friend. This was the most important part of his story, the part Astrid really needed to understand. Toothless was his best friend, and nothing, _nothing _she would say or do was going to change that.

Then, he fell silent and waited for the axe to fall – that could very well be literal. Astrid said cross-legged, staring at the sketches. She had not said a word throughout his story, though her eyes did grow progressively wider.

He braced himself for the questions.

'You named him what?'

Hmm. He had thought her first question would be something along the lines of _how could you betray your tribe like this? _Then she would start yelling and punching and the little progress they'd made in their relationship would be all for naught.

'Toothless,' he said, flinching.

'And is he really that? Toothless?'

'No. he has retractable teeth. It's actually quite cool,'

'Huh,' She was still staring at the sketches, an unreadable expression on her face. He had expected her to have picked up her axe and charged by now, and he felt confused. Why wasn't she trying to kill him yet?

The wait was not helping his nerves. 'Please say something,' he pleaded.

'I need time to absorb this,' Astrid snapped, a hand on her forehead, 'We have a dragon-killing history of three hundred years. You can't expect me to just _adjust _in half an hour,' she slapped another hand to her face. 'And I thought it was a _Terrible Terror_,'

'What?'

'Just shut up,'

He fell obediently silent.

'Looks like Hoark has to eat his helmet,' she murmured.

'_What_?'

'Nothing,' she shook her head. 'I… okay. Okay,' she seemed to be reassuring herself; then turned her piercing gaze on Hiccup and took a deep breath, 'Right. You're bringing me to meet this Toothless tomorrow,'

'I am?' Hiccup hoped she wasn't planning on bringing her axe with her.

Astrid glared at him. 'Yes, you are. Since this Night Fury is going to be a permanent… fixture in your life, we might as well get to know each other,'

Her words –what they implied- made something heavy fall from Hiccup's shoulders. But for safety's sake, he still had to ask. 'You're not going to bring your axe tomorrow, are you?'

Astrid shot him an offended look that said _What, do I look stupid_? And Hiccup felt giddy with relief.

'And you're taking me flying,' she added.

'I… I am?'

She glared warningly, and he thought it best to agree. 'That is not a problem. At least not for me,'

'What?'

'Well… Toothless has a mind of his own,' Hiccup said, putting up a hand at Astrid's glare. 'But I'll… of course… do my best to persuade him…'

Astrid sighed and fingered the sketches of Toothless. 'If Toothless were a Terror, this would have been so much easier to swallow,' she murmured to herself, then looked at him. 'One can always expect the unexpected from you, Hiccup. A Night Fury. No one had ever even _seen_ one. And you shot one out of the sky; then _befriended_ him,'

'Yeah well. I guess the Viking way just wasn't working for me,' Hiccup said, shrugging.

'You really are one of a kind,' she said, nodding. When he grimaced, she scowled. 'Oh stop it. It's not a bad thing after all,'

He stared. 'Did you really mean that?'

'Your un-Viking-like ways turned a Night Fury into a friend, didn't they?' Astrid said, 'And by the way, Tooth_less_? Really? A _Night Fury _named Toothless? Sounds a little undignified, don't you think?'

'The name just stuck,' Hiccup said. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation, discussing Toothless' name like it was the weather. He had expected Astrid to be a lot harder to convince.

And why was she talking about a Terror?

'You know, I was expecting this to be a lot harder, and more painful,' he said to her.

'Let's just say I had been forewarned. Sort of,' she leaned forward. 'Hiccup, what are we going to do tomorrow?' she asked worriedly.

The relief he had felt at Astrid's ready acceptance disappeared. Hiccup knew what she was asking. Tomorrow, he and Astrid, the two 'best' dragon fighters in the class, would be competing against each other and a Gronkle. The winner – hopefully it wouldn't be the Gronkle – would obtain the 'honor' of killing a Monstrous Nightmare in front of the entire village.

'I don't know,' he said.

'Are you going to let me win?' Astrid asked him. 'I know you won't want to kill the Nightmare,'

'I don't really like the idea of you going against the Nightmare either. You might get hurt,' Hiccup said honestly, 'And of course I don't want you to kill it too. The Nightmare's not… they're not dangerous,'

'Hiccup,' Astrid said, her voice worried, and to his surprise, she reached out and laid her hand over his. 'Even if you can prove to everyone that dragons can be friendly when we don't charge them with battle axes, the fact remains that they take our food. This has always been the main reason why we've been fighting them for three hundred years. Friendly dragons would still eat us out of house and home, Hiccup,'

He felt dejected. 'I know, I'm still trying to figure out what to do,'

Astrid rubbed her eyes. 'Maybe we should figure out all of this tomorrow. It's late, and I'm tired, and my brain feels like it's had enough information for the day,'

'Sure,' Hiccup rose to put away the sketches. He smiled at her, 'You know, I'm glad I told you. Makes everything easier to bear, somehow,'

He felt his brain switching off when Astrid beamed at him. Odin, she was gorgeous when she smiled like that.

Then she punched him on the arm, hard. And his brain switched back on.

'Hey!'

'That's for all those lies in the ring,' she said sternly.

'Ow,' he murmured, rubbing his arm, and climbing into his side of the bed. 'I guess I deserved that. What?' he asked defensively. She was still looking at him.

She grabbed his shirtfront and pulled, before Hiccup could yelp, she had pressed her lips to his cheek.

They had kissed before –on the mouth, too- during their wedding. Because it was expected and everyone was watching. But this was different; this wasn't forced, this didn't feel bitter or awkward or _wrong_. This felt nice, and even though it wasn't _on the mouth_, this caused something warm and syrupy sweet to well up inside his chest.

And his brain had switched off again. In fact, it felt like it had died, with no hope of regeneration. Ever.

'That's for…' Astrid looked as surprised and as speechless as he felt, '… for everything else,'

She broke her gaze and began burying herself in the furs, leaving Hiccup sitting with the goofiest smile on his face.


	23. Chapter 23

I've decided to skip writing the Meeting-the-Red-Death scene; since I assume everyone has seen the movie and writing that scene would be repetitive.

Longer chapter, as promised.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

The next morning, five seconds after the Gronkle was released into the ring, Astrid made up her mind to beat Hiccup.

'Stay out of my way,' she snapped at him, and he shot her a confused look. Astrid didn't care; it just didn't feel right to let Hiccup win, then force him to kill the Nightmare.

She had always thought Vikings were supposed to be tough, rough, and bloodthirsty. But Hiccup had shown her something; something softer, more compassionate. She had thought this side of him weak and useless, but now that she had got to know him, she found that she _liked _this side of him. He was something she had been missing all her life. Now the Viking way seemed crude and brutal and… stupid.

She wouldn't let Hiccup kill the Nightmare. She didn't want anything to mar that softer side of him.

'This time,' she murmured, 'This time for sure,' She raised her axe – _for Hiccup! _– and charged with her usual battle cry.

To find the Gronkle passed out at Hiccup's feet.

'_Son of a half-troll_!'

Amidst cheering, the Elder declared Hiccup the winner while Astrid swore rapidly and creatively at no one in particular.

She was still seething in the afternoon when she and Hiccup set off to see Toothless.

'Lies, tricks, deception,' she muttered fiercely, 'blind, stupid, hardheaded…'

'Why are you so angry?' Hiccup finally said in frustration, turning to look at her. 'We talked about this last night,'

'I told you _this morning _to stay out of my way!' Astrid snarled.

'You should have said something last night if you wanted to win so badly!' Hiccup said angrily, 'I thought that after our talk last night, the _glory _of _killing the Monstrous Nightmare in front of the entire village_ wouldn't be so important to you!'

'Is that what you think? That I'm that shallow? That I wanted… wanted the _glory_? You should know me better than that!' she shouted. Something hurt in her chest. She refused to admit it, to feel hurt. She was a _Viking_, she would _not _feel hurt all because Hiccup thought so little of her. It didn't _matter _that he thought so little of her.

'Why else would you be so mad?' Hiccup said defensively.

'I didn't want _you _to have to choose between your people and that Nightmare!' she shouted. Maybe if she shouted loud enough, the hurt would go away. 'I thought I would be doing you a favor, so that you wouldn't have to worry your head off about killing that dragon tomorrow! You know what? Go ahead and knock yourself out tomorrow, I don't care!' She pushed past him and stomped off.

There was a pause, then Hiccup came running after her. 'Astrid, wait!'

'Just take me to Toothless and quit talking to me!' she snarled.

'You have to give me a chance to explain!' he stepped in front of her, walking backwards, trying to block her way.

'I am not listening to _anything _you have to say!' she yelled.

'Astrid, please,' He put his arms around her, and held on tight.

Her brain went blank.

What was she supposed to do now? She was being _hugged_. No one else apart from her parents had ever hugged her; only Hiccup. He had been her only source of warmth that night she had been sick; now he was just as warm, and something soothed over her heart, and the pain in her chest seemed to fade a little.

He pulled back just as suddenly as he had hugged her. His face went from flushed to pale then back to flushed in seconds. 'I'm… sorry. I didn't…' he took a deep breath and backed a step, 'I'm sorry I said that. It just never occurred to me that you were trying to win… for me,' he looked at her wonderingly. 'I never thought you'd want to… look out for me like that,'

'Right now I'm wondering what in Odin's name possessed me to have done that too,' she said acidly.

'No one's ever looked out for me before. Well, except for my dad and Gobber,' Hiccup rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed sort of way. 'No one else ever bothered,'

She looked at him for a moment, debating with herself, then sighed. 'Remember when you said you're... nice to me because I'm important to you? You're beginning to become important to me, too,' she said, feeling the heat creeping up to her cheeks, but couldn't help smiling at the stunned joy on his face.

'I… um… I…' he gave up, and just beamed.

'C'mon,' she said, punching him lightly on the arm. 'Toothless, remember?'

'Oh right, Toothless,' still grinning like an idiot, he led the way into the forest. It was a really beautiful day, all blue skies and white clouds and sunshine, rather rare for Berk. They walked past the spot in the forest where Astrid trained with her axe. Some of the trees still bore marks from her trusty weapon. She hadn't brought her axe along this time. Toothless was a Night Fury, the offspring of lightning and death, according to the Dragon Manual, but since Hiccup had said weapons made Toothless hostile, she thought it best to leave her weapon behind.

She had a knife concealed _inside _her tunic, though; where Toothless was unlikely to see. Hiccup might be all starry-eyed over his dragon, but she was reserving judgment.

'You know, Astrid. You didn't have to do that,' Hiccup said softly, 'Trying to shield me, I mean. I'm not that boy who needs protection all the time now. I'm learning to take care of myself,' He touched her hand briefly, 'But thank you. Really. It means a lot to me,'

He led her into a cove. There was a shield stuck between two boulders that guarded the entrance and they had to duck under it to enter the cove. Hiccup grinned sheepishly when she raised her eyebrow at the shield.

So this was where he kept his dragon. His dragon. Odin. Her husband had a dragon.

'Hey, Toothless! Toothless! Come out here, bud! There's someone I want you to meet!' Hiccup raised his voice. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of her hand and guided her forward. She debated with herself if she should pull her hand out of his grip, but it seemed like too much effort. Besides, the dragon might see it as friendly behavior and warm up to her faster.

Something moved at the edge of her peripheral vision. Something black. Astrid stopped, turning her head. Hiccup positioned himself slightly in front of her. He didn't let go of her hand. 'Hey bud, c'mon down here,'

The Night Fury was smaller than she thought, and did not have all the spikes and horns that all the other dragons had. Instead he had a number of flap-like ears, at least Astrid thought they were ears. His eyes were green and huge, and narrowed in suspicion. When he leapt down from the boulder, wings spread for balance, Astrid saw that they were long and bat-like, and he had a very long tail, half of which was made of metal and leather.

The saddle on his back did nothing to undermine the grace with which he moved.

She shot Hiccup an incredulous look. This suspicious, snarling, menacing beast was his _best friend_?

'Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid,' Hiccup introduced. The dragon made a deep, growly sound in his throat, and came forward, sniffing the air suspiciously. She stood still, wondering if she should be doing something, like talking to the dragon, or trying to pat him. Or maybe grabbing Hiccup and running away. She looked at Hiccup, but the boy only smiled encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, Astrid raised her hand to the growling beast.

Toothless snarled, his pupils narrowing into slits, but Astrid had always been the just-do-it-and-get-it-over-with sort of girl; she didn't back away.

As she reached determinedly forward, Astrid couldn't help thinking how inappropriate the name Toothless was for this dragon. Those rows of teeth gleamed white and looked very sharp. They looked like they'd really hurt if they came chopping down over her hand. She held her breath and just left her hand there in the air, watching, waiting for something to happen.

The growls ceased as girl and dragon stared at each other, assessing, weighing. Everything else faded for Astrid, there was only the Night Fury, and if she got to touch it, everything would be alright. She looked into the dragon's eyes and waited. _It's your call now, dragon._

Then, finally, Toothless moved his head and touched his nose to Astrid's hand. They stayed like that for a moment, and a connection of some sort was established. Then he began sniffing at her, making deep, growly noises in his throat; then the noises changed into what was unmistakably purring, and the dragon butted his head gently against her, as though seeking affection.

His pupils had dilated, making him look a lot less menacing. Astrid mentally heaved a sigh of relief.

'That was quick,' Hiccup looked delighted. 'He probably smelled you on me, so he recognized your scent…' he flushed, and cleared his throat, 'You can scratch him, you know. Here,' he put her hand on the dragon's scaly head, 'Scratch him here. And here, he loves that,'

Apparently he did. The offspring of lightning and death itself purred like a gigantic cat and closed his eyes in ecstasy as she did as Hiccup instructed. All the grace and air of superiority disappeared. The Night Fury now looked and behaved like a cross between an overgrown puppy and a cat. As he rolled over onto the ground, belly-side up, Astrid laughed.

'This was easier than I thought. I didn't even have to bring out the dragon nip,' Hiccup said, grinning.

Astrid couldn't help the smile that stretch across her face. She was touching a dragon, not just any dragon, a _Night Fury_; and he _liked _it. It was like petting a gigantic dog. The skin under her palm was scaly but strangely smooth, and warm; vibrating with the dragon's purring. His pupils had dilated even further, giving him a large-eyed, adorable puppy look.

'You can feed him next time,' Hiccup told her, 'He eats fish. I didn't bring any today because I was afraid he would… ah, regurgitate half of a fish up for you,' he shrugged when she blinked at him. 'He threw up half a salmon for me the day we became friends. I had to eat it. And there were these other times…' he shot Toothless an accusing look, which the dragon returned, 'It's probably a Night Fury friendship thing,'

'Thanks for the warning,' Astrid said drily.

'And now, you mentioned flying,' Hiccup grinned. He looked very happy. It had been a long time since Astrid had seen him so genuinely happy, so radiant with it. 'C'mon Toothless. We're taking Astrid flying today,' he told the dragon, who looked between them and wriggled and grunted, as though answering. 'So behave yourself and no funny tricks,'

'Should I worry about these funny tricks?' Astrid said, as Hiccup swung himself onto the dragon's back.

'No, I won't let anything happen to you,' he smiled down at her, and held out a hand. She grasped it, and let Hiccup pull her up to sit behind him. 'Hold on,' he told her, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

'You ready?' he asked.

She nodded. _Just get it over with_. 'Bring it on,'

Muscles bunched below her as the huge wings spread open on either side of her. Toothless leapt upward, the huge wings swung down powerfully, and they were airborne. Instinctively she shut her eyes as the world dropped dizzily away.

'Isn't it great?' Hiccup shouted gleefully in the wind.

'Ask me again after we land!' she shouted back as they shot up into the sky. The wind roared; her stomach rolled. She cracked open an eye and quickly closed it again. They were still ascending. Gods, how much higher could they go? Astrid couldn't help thinking that she'd have a very, _very _long way to wave goodbye if she fell.

Then Toothless levelled out and the flight calmed. They soared gently and the wind grew soft. Still gripping Hiccup tightly, Astrid refused to open her eyes.

'Hey, it's okay. You're safe,' Hiccup said, petting one of her booted feet that were wrapped around his waist. Oh, she had wrapped all four limbs around him without realizing. Astrid thought it best to just leave them there around him.

'I won't let you fall, 'kay?' Hiccup said reassuringly.

The simple words calmed her. She ventured a look and her eyes widened.

They were in the clouds, in the sky, with the setting sun bathing them in pink and gold and red. The land and sea spread beneath them, small and quiet and so _peaceful_. Hesitatingly, gaping, she reached out and touched a cloud. The cool moisture passed through her fingers like smoke. 'By Thor, this is amazing!' she laughed. She was touching a cloud!

'I'm glad you like it,' Hiccup grinned at her over his shoulder.

'You're driving. So keep your eyes focused on where you're going,' she told him. He laughed. 'Relax Astrid, Toothless knows where we're going. He won't let anything too drastic happen to us,'

'Ha. Ha,' Astrid said.

The dragon grunted happily in agreement, and flew on. The ocean spread to the horizons below them. The view was unlike anything Astrid had imagined. The world was _huge_, they were mere dots in it. Almost insignificant. But it felt so _good _to know she was there with Hiccup, alive and part of such a world. So this was what it was like, to see the world from a dragon's eyes. To feel so _free._

Hiccup was working the artificial tailfin like it was second nature to him. She could hear the soft clicks when he changed the position of the fin. He and Toothless were a team, twisting, turning, soaring together. Just how long had he worked with Toothless on this to get it perfected? She wondered. It was as if he could read Toothless' mind. She could see the affection between the two. The dragon was his best friend, he had told her. He had found in a dragon what he had missed in his peers - simple acceptance and companionship.

No wonder Hiccup had chosen to spend time with the dragon rather than with his fellow peers. With Toothless he was not snubbed; the dragon needed him. Here with Toothless, he was useful. He was an equal. He had a friend.

She had done the same thing too. She had ignored him, made him feel unwelcomed, like everyone else had. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, and he turned to grin at her. He looked the warmth, and the affection. She had shunned him, scorned him; but he did not hold it against her.

'After the sun sets, we'll fly over Berk. Never thought you'd get to see our village from the air, huh?' Hiccup smiled at her over his shoulder. 'It's a feeling you'd never forget,'

His eyes were sparkling and warm and gentle, reassuring. He said he'd loved her forever. What had she done to deserve someone like him? She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, and just breathed him in.

Her father was right _again_. All she had to do was ask.

* * *

Hiccup would like to think the flight was romantic, and a complete success.

At least before the impromptu trip to the dragons' nest and the very close-up meeting with the big, ugly dragon that ate other dragons.

The thing had been _huge_. He couldn't get the size of it out of his head. And now they finally knew the real reason behind all the dragon raids.

'Are you alright?' he asked Astrid quietly as they flew back to Berk.

'I still have all limbs intact, if that's what you're asking,' she said. Her voice was a little shaky. Hiccup suspected his own was too. 'You?'

'My heart rate's never going to return to normal again. Apart from that, yeah, I'm good,' he said weakly.

'Hiccup. We have to tell the others,' Astrid said urgently. 'We need an army or something, to defeat that dragon,'

'It's huge, Astrid. I don't think swords and axes are going to even bruise it,' If only his brain could settle down and he could think straight. 'An army's not going to make any difference,' Toothless grunted at this, as though agreeing.

'Hiccup, we _have _to destroy that thing,' Astrid said, 'don't you understand? You were right, the dragons are innocent. If we get rid of that queen bee, the dragons won't raid us anymore,'

'Queen bee?'

'It totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and that's their queen. It controls them,' Toothless landed gently in the cove and Astrid slid off. 'C'mon. Gobber's in charge when your father's not here. Let's go tell him,'

'Astrid, wait,' he ran after her. 'They'd… kill Toothless. We have to think this through, carefully,'

Astrid looked incredulous. Hiccup braced himself for a torrent of accusations and blows, but she merely glared. 'Do you really think I'd let anyone hurt Toothless?'

Um. 'It's kind of the Viking way right? Cut his head off, then ask questions?' Hiccup said.

'We don't have to tell them where we're keeping Toothless. And we'll forget to mention that Toothless can't fly without you,' Astrid rolled her eyes, as though he was being particularly stupid. 'Telling Gobber is a good idea. He's more… negotiable… compared to your father. No offense,'

Didn't he know it. 'None taken,'

'This is out of our hands, Hiccup. We have to tell the grownups,' she put her hand on his arm. 'Tomorrow in the ring, show them that you can befriend the Nightmare, we'll take it from there,'

'Okay,' Somehow, that seemed like the best plan they had so far.

'Just don't get yourself killed tomorrow,' Astrid warned. 'It'd be a lot harder to convince the grownups that dragons can be friendly if you do,'

'Right,' Hiccup said weakly. He looked at Toothless, who was drinking at the pond, tail flicking. His best friend. Tomorrow he would expose him to one of the best warriors of the tribe. What if something went wrong, and Toothless was harmed? His best friend, who had forgiven him for knocking off half his tail. Who treated him as an equal.

He would never forgive himself.

But Astrid was right. They had to do something about that giant queen bee. Then maybe, _maybe, _Vikings and dragons could live together in peace.

'We'll be back for you tomorrow, bud,' he told the dragon softly, who butted him with his head, purring. Astrid scratched his head, and the purring intensified. 'We won't let anything happen to you,' she murmured fiercely. She turned to Hiccup. 'C'mon,'

They walked back to the village in the moonlight in silence. Hiccup stopped for a moment in front of his house. Theirs was the highest house in the village; according to his father, a chief looked over his people to protect them. It was a place of responsibility. This time, he was responsible for both the safety of his people and the dragons. Maybe it was time to prove that he was the chieftain's son after all.

He must have looked too grim; to lighten the atmosphere, Astrid punched him on the shoulder.

'Ow! Why did you do that?' he yelped.

'That's for actually thinking I'd let Toothless be harmed,' Astrid scoffed. Then she stepped forward and kissed his cheek. 'And that's for… everything else,'

Odin. He had been kissed on the cheek _twice _in two days by Astrid. Marriage life was definitely looking up.

He could feel the goofy smile spreading across his face, but couldn't help it. Astrid looked very amused. 'C'mon, dragon rider. You'd better get some sleep. You have a big day ahead of you,'


	24. Chapter 24

I needed to write this from a third-party's view. So Fishlegs was chosen. Well, mostly.

This has been a hard chapter to write. Here goes nothing.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

It was the Big Day. They had been waiting for this day ever since dragon training had begun. They had competed with each other for this; and now Hiccup would have that honor. He would kill the Monstrous Nightmare, and the tribe would celebrate his victory. They would have lots of mead, and food; lots of people would get hilariously drunk and tell embarrassing stories about one another.

Fishlegs was feeling pretty apprehensive when he followed the rest of the gang to the ring.

'Hiccup is going to _crush _that dragon!' Snotlout said loudly, punching a fist in the air.

It wasn't that Fishlegs doubted Hiccup's ability. But Hiccup tended to use his bare hands; and while it was beyond impressive that he needed no weapon to defeat a dragon, this was a Monstrous Nightmare, firepower 15; _and_ Nightmares were known to set themselves on fire. Bare hands and fire. Was he really the only person who thought this could end in disaster?

Apparently he wasn't. Astrid, walking with them, was tight-lipped and grim. Maybe she had finally warmed up to Hiccup and was worried that he'd get hurt. 'I'll see you guys later,' she muttered, and left in the direction of the entrance of the ring, where Hiccup was waiting to start his final exam.

'I hope Hiccup's going to be alright,' Fishlegs said to Ruffnut, who was beside him. To his surprise, she flushed and stepped back. 'I'm sure he'd be fine. The whole thing would be over in five minutes and it'd be really boring,' she said, not looking at him.

Ruffnut had been doing that a lot in the last few days, going red for no reason at all. It was surprisingly girly of her. Fishlegs secretly found it very endearing.

They wormed their way to the front of the crowd – being smaller than the grownups had its advantages. Fishlegs could see Hiccup at the entrance. He didn't even put on armor. But then Hiccup was so small, armor would only slow him down. Astrid appeared to be giving him a last minute prep talk.

'He's not even wearing a helmet,' scoffed Tuffnut.

'That's because he doesn't need one,' Snotlout bragged. 'That's confidence for you, man!'

Hiccup didn't look very confident to Fishlegs. He was very pale, and he looked frightened. There was determination set in his features though. After all, this was a great honor. Too bad Stoick wasn't back yet and wouldn't see this. Fishlegs wondered what the chief would think when he found out his son was the best dragon fighter in class.

The gate to the entrance opened. Hiccup raised his head and took a deep breath. He walked into the ring and the gate closed behind him. Amidst the murmurs, they saw Hiccup walking up to the weapons and picked a shield, and a small –very small- dagger.

'I'm ready,' he said clearly.

Fishlegs had time to wonder at how small and defenseless Hiccup looked in the ring, then the cage opened and the Nightmare was released. Hiccup now looked even smaller.

'This is awesome!' Snotlout waved a fist. Fishlegs didn't think so. He suddenly regretted being right in front of the crowd. The flaming dragon shot fire through the chains, and Vikings collided with one another to get out of range. As the dragon clambered past, Fishlegs had a second to look into its eye, yellow and plain _evil_. He had never stood so close to a Nightmare before, it was huge and terrifying and vicious, much worse than any of the other dragons they had had to fight during training.

What was Gobber thinking? Shouldn't he have let them practice with the Nightmare first before letting one of them into the ring to kill it? Stoick wouldn't be very happy if Hiccup was incinerated; Fishlegs thought grimly as he watched Hiccup dodging a shot from the Nightmare.

'Hang in there,' he murmured – not that Hiccup could hear him. 'It's halfway through its shot limit,'

Hiccup stood in the middle and followed the Nightmare with his eyes. The dragon dropped to the ground, and fixed its evil yellow eyes on Hiccup. As the Nightmare advanced on him, Hiccup backed slowly away, and Fishlegs had to fight the urge to close his eyes. He had to help, he thought wildly, give Hiccup some advice. The distance and Hiccup's weight made swinging a mace or an axe useless – there wouldn't be enough force behind it. His only chance was something sharp.

'Make it finish its shots! Then Jab it in the eye, Hiccup!' he yelled. 'Use your knife!'

Other people were shouting advice too, mostly impractical ones.

'Kill it!'

'Give 'em all you've got!'

'Knock 'em dead!'

'Go for the hammer!' Gobber shouted, gesturing wildly, 'You can't knock 'em dead with that little dagger!'

Then Hiccup acted; he dropped the little dagger, and the shield. And he held out his bare hands to the snarling beast.

'It's okay,' he told the dragon. 'I'm not one of them,'

The shouts and cheering of the people stopped as though their voices had been cut off.

'Hiccup! What are you doing?' Gobber shouted.

The dragon stopped in front of Hiccup, its growls ceased. And there was utter silence both inside and outside the ring.

'What is he _doing_?' Ruffnut said in a whisper.

'Hiccup!' Gobber shouted, and began pushing people out of his way as he moved quickly to the entrance. 'Get the boy out of there!'

'No! Listen to me!' Hiccup snapped. Fishlegs had never heard Hiccup speak that way, all quiet authority and determination. 'I need you all to see this. They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them. Stop!' he threw that word at Gobber, and several other men who were readying their weapons, 'Stop moving and _watch_!'

'Hiccup! Get out of there! Your father would _kill _me if anything happens to you!' Gobber shouted.

Hiccup ignored him. 'Just _watch_,'he said.

Before hundreds of horrified eyes, he laid his hand flat on the dragon's snout. At this, Fishlegs closed his eyes.

Seconds passed. There was no horrified screaming, no roars from the dragon. Someone was gripping his arm very, _very _tightly. And it hurt. Slowly he cracked open one eye. Ruffnut was holding on to his arm, and staring into the ring. Since she didn't look horrified, just stunned, Fishlegs turned to look too.

Hiccup was still there, all limbs intact. His hand was still on the Nightmare's snout. And he was _petting _it with his other hand. And there was a deep, growly sound that was almost a _purr _coming from the dragon; its eyes were yellow slits. It seemed to be _enjoying _the attention.

Several of the men who had wanted to charge in and rescue Hiccup dropped their weapons in sheer astonishment.

'You see. Dragons are not dangerous at all. They are actually very friendly creatures. They raid us only because they had to. I've found out why,' Hiccup said, looking up at them. He looked nervous to be facing so many people. But having a dragon breathing in his face was apparently no cause of concern. Fishlegs thought he would never understand him.

Hiccup looked pleadingly at Gobber. 'Gobber, please,'

The huge man closed his gaping mouth in difficulty. 'What… lad… wha?'

'I need to talk to everyone, in the Great Hall. This is serious,' Hiccup pleaded. 'Please,'

'Um…' said their teacher, still looking dumbstruck. Fishlegs knew just how he felt.

Murmurs were beginning to sound from the crowd. People shifted, some moving forward to get a better look, some moving back as though afraid of being contaminated by what they were seeing.

'The boy's betrayed us! He chose a dragon over his own people!' shouted Mildew. There were agreeing mutters and answering shouts; weapons were raised. Some of the warriors left behind by Stoick to guard the village began moving towards the entrance with their weapons.

'By Thor! The boy's gone mad!'

'Grab him! Stoick would deal with him!'

'Befriending dragons! This is unheard of!'

'He must have planned this! The boy's been helping dragons raid us for _years_! Always messing up at crucial times! We need to put an end to this!' Mildew shouted, leading a gaggle of supporters towards the entrance. Fishlegs huddled together with the others. A riot was starting. The noises seemed to alarm the Nightmare, it growled agitatedly, and it seemed that all Hiccup could do was to hold on to his neck and try to calm him down.

'Hiccup didn't… he wouldn't have…' Snotlout said, staring wide-eyed at his cousin.

'Of course not. Hiccup wouldn't betray us. Mildew's just saying it for the _attention_,' Fishlegs said heatedly. 'He's never had so many people agreeing with him before,'

'Gobber!' said a voice, and Astrid materialized in front of the huge man, giving him a sound smack on the arm. 'Do _something_! You have to listen to Hiccup! You have to make _them_ listen! Gobber, _please_!'

'Right! Right! A meeting! In the Great Hall!' Gobber said, pulling on his braided beard with his hand and waving at the stampeding people with his hook. 'Stop that! Stop it, I say! We'll listen to what the boy has to say!' He turned to look at Hiccup. 'By Thor Hiccup,' he said weakly, 'you don't do things halfway, do you?'

'You still favor the boy?' Mildew shouted, 'After all he's done! How could you stand by him?'

'Hiccup has done nothing all his life but trying to fit into this tribe. I would know. And now he has something to share, so he will have his chance,' Gobber snapped, 'We will not condemn one of our own without letting him have a chance to speak for himself,' he stepped forward and peered down at Mildew from his considerable height standing at the top of the stairs, 'Stoick left me in charge while he's gone. Do you wish to challenge that? Do you wish to challenge _me_?'

'Challenge him, challenge him,' Tuffnut, standing beside Fishlegs, said in a low voice, smirking, 'Gobber's going to _flatten _him in two minutes, now _that _would be awesome,'

The same thought seemed to have occurred to Mildew, he backed off reluctantly. Gobber looked around at the people. 'Does anyone else wish to challenge my authority?' he shouted; when no one answered, he nodded, 'Then I say we will proceed to the Great Hall. We'll hear what Hiccup has to say. And then… then we'll make our decision,' he gave Hiccup a hard glare.

'Sure, give the boy a chance to make a run for it,' Mildew said snidely.

Gobber merely glared and pointed with his hook. 'To the Great Hall,' he ordered.

Mumbling, muttering, the people began leaving; casting mistrustful looks at Hiccup and the Nightmare in the ring. Fishlegs couldn't blame them for being fearful; Hiccup was now scratching the Nightmare under the chin; the sight was just bizarre.

What had just happened? It was like a dream.

'You better have a good explanation for this, Hiccup,' Gobber told him.

With the dragon now apparently sleeping at his feet, Hiccup smiled weakly.

'Oh wow,' breathed Ruffnut. 'Is that normal dragon behavior?'

'Hiccup the Dragon Trainer,' Snotlout said in an awed voice.

'Actually, according to Hiccup, anyone can train a dragon,' said Astrid, coming up to stand beside them. She still looked worried.

'You knew,' Ruffnut accused. 'And you didn't tell me,'

'I just found out yesterday,' Astrid said, but patted Ruffnut's shoulder in apology. 'C'mon, we've to get to the Great Hall. You guys have to hear what Hiccup has to say,'

* * *

Hiccup had plenty to say to the entire hall of silent Vikings. He looked very small to Fishlegs as he stood in front of the hearth facing everyone else. Astrid, standing beside him, looked very small too among all the burly warriors.

To cut a long story short, according to Hiccup, dragons raided them not because they wanted to, they did it because they had to feed another dragon the size of a mountain, or else they'd be eaten themselves. And dragons were actually friendly creatures that loved dragon nip – _dragon nip_?_ - _and scratches under their chins, and they hated eels.

So if they get rid of the big queen dragon, the smaller friendly dragons would cease to fly off with the Vikings' food, there would be no more wars and everyone would live happily ever after.

Oh, and Hiccup had a Night Fury hidden somewhere. That was how he learned all this information.

Teenagers were proven to be more flexible and open-minded than adults, Fishlegs thought privately to himself. Snotlout slammed one fist into a palm as soon as Hiccup finished and asked. 'That's great. So when are we going to kill this queen dragon?'

'But we don't know anything about this dragon. What's its shot limit? How fast can it fly? Is it poisonous?' said Fishlegs. Didn't anyone else think the answers to these questions might mean the difference between death and survival?

'We can kill her, _then _ask questions later,' Ruffnut suggested.

'We're burning daylight, let's go,' Tuffnut said.

'Er. Guys. We might need to give the grownups some time for this to set in,' Hiccup said tensely.

The grownups looked gobstruck and incapable of speech. Even Mildew seemed at loss for words.

'You really did shoot down that Night Fury?' Gobber said incredulously. This seemed to be the only piece of information that had sunk in.

'Yes. But can we focus on the problem at hand? You know, big giant dragon that eats other dragons…' Hiccup said.

The great doors were flung open and a stream of bedraggled Viking warriors trooped in, led by Stoick.

'Duh duh duh, we're dead,' Hiccup smacked his forehead.

'I would have thought _some_one would be at the docks welcoming our return,' Stoick announced loudly.

'Mum! Dad!' Fishlegs saw them and ran forward amidst cheers. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Thorston twins making a beeline for their parents too. Ruffnut leapt into her father's arms and buried her face in his neck. So she wasn't as unaffected as she had made it sound like. Then he was enveloped in his mother's arms and Ruffnut and Hiccup and the dragons flew from his mind for that few seconds.

The Hall rang with glad welcomes. Above the dim, Stoick's voice could be heard. 'What did my son do _this_ time?'

Given Hiccup's track record, Fishlegs really couldn't blame the chief for jumping to conclusions.

'Funny you should ask, Stoick. Your son has big news,' Gobber patted his friend on the arm.

* * *

The morning had not gone as smoothly as Astrid had wanted. Hiccup was still alive and unharmed, that was a plus. But Mildew had fanned the people's mistrust. Astrid really, really hated the old man right now.

And now, Stoick had returned. Stoick, the Viking of Vikings, stubborn, hard, who hated dragons with a vengeance. This was not good.

She stood beside Hiccup and held his hand. He was trembling, gripping her hand tightly as Gobber filled in the returned warriors on his news. 'This is bad,' he said in a low, hoarse voice.

'Give your father some credit,' Astrid said, but the thunderous look on Stoick's face made her skin crawl too. She had never seen Stoick look so mad. Even when Hiccup had messed up all those times in the past, Stoick had never looked as mad as he did now.

'He never listens, _never_,' Hiccup gulped. 'He's going to think I betrayed the tribe, and absolutely _nothing _would change his mind,'

'Hiccup…' Astrid began, but just then Stoick gave a roar and pushed past Gobber roughly. Hiccup yelped as his father grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him from the hall.

'Someone's in trouble,' sang Mildew in utter delight. Astrid hooked a leg around his ankle as she ran past, and the man toppled over face-first into the nearest pillar. The pained howl of 'Ma noss! Iss brook'n!' was music to her ears as she raced down the steps after Stoick and Hiccup.

Stoick dragged his son all the way back to their house. Neither of them seemed to notice Astrid coming in after them. They were too focused on each other.

'We had a _deal_!' Stoick roared.

'I know, Dad. I… I'm sorry…'

'I should have known you'd come up with something like this. _This_!' Stoick indicated the whole of Hiccup with a sweep of his arm, 'I told you to stop all this! I should've known you'd mess up, you can't help it! But I never thought you'd do something like _this_!'

'Dad…'

'Do you realize what you have done?' Stoick shouted, 'You betrayed our people! You threw in your lot with those monsters!'

They're not monsters!'

'They killed hundreds of us!'

'Because we killed _thousands _of them! They defend themselves!' Hiccup screamed, 'Haven't you been listening? There's this thing on their island controlling them, Dad! They raid us because they have to! If they don't, they'll be eaten themselves!'

'How did you know about their island?' Stoick growled, 'we searched the place for months and never found it. _How did you know about their island_?'

Hiccup stood still, lips pressed together. Right at that moment, Astrid saw Stoick on his face, the same stubborn look, the same obstinate glint in his eyes.

'It's that dragon you're hiding, isn't it?' Stoick said, breathing heavily, 'That dragon took you to the nest. Where's the dragon, Hiccup?'

'I'm not…'

'_Where's the dragon?_'

'You're not hurting Toothless!' Hiccup yelled, 'He's my best friend!'

That was the wrong thing to say, Stoick seemed to fill the entire house in his rage.

'Best _friend_! The dragon! You are my son! You are _my _son! The son of a chief! And you betrayed your tribe! You betrayed _me_!' he roared in anguish, 'You betrayed Valhallarama! She was my _wife_! My wife, whom the dragons _killed_!' He flung his arm forward.

He might had just meant to push Hiccup away, or to push past him, or he could have really meant to hit Hiccup in his blind rage; none of them would ever know. As soon as Astrid saw him raise his arm, she rushed forward in front of Hiccup and into the way of the arm.

The impact knocked her off her feet onto the floor, where she skidded a few feet and slammed headfirst into a chair.

The pain was blinding, a hot flash, and she literally saw stars. Blood pounded in her ears. The world went dark for a moment, before swimming dizzily and slowly back into focus.

'Astrid! Gods! Astrid!'

Trembling hands touched her face, her shoulders, her arms. Hiccup. Because her world was still upside-down, and her head throbbed fiercely from its collision with the chair, she let him pull her against him, and there she stayed with her eyes closed, waiting for the tilted world to right itself slowly. Her elbow hurt like the time she had fallen from a tree and scraped off a layer of her skin; her hip sang from her landing.

'Oh, lass… I didn't mean to… why did you…? Are you…?' Stoick's voice was horrified.

She opened her eyes. Hiccup was cradling her against him, his face white and anxious. She was relieved she could see only one of him. 'I'm fine,' she said, pushing him gently away and sitting up, 'I've had worse,'

The world was still swimming. She blinked hard and looked at Stoick. The huge man was staring at her in horror; he backed a step, and looked down at his hands, as though unable to believe he had just flung his daughter-in-law across the room. There was no rage in his eyes now; instead he looked terrified and guilt-ridden. The shock at his own actions seemed to have jarred him out of his rage.

'Oh lass, I didn't mean…' he said helplessly, 'I'm so sorry. Are you alright? Are you hurt…?

This was her chance. She gripped Hiccup's arm. 'Valhallarama was Hiccup's mother,' she said clearly.

Stoick looked at her, dazed. 'What?'

'She was your wife. But you've forgotten. She was Hiccup's mother,' Astrid said, 'And Hiccup had hated dragons just like you do. Do you think he would have let that hatred go so easily? Something changed his mind. Toothless changed his mind, and Toothless has changed my mind too,' she pulled on Hiccup's arm, and they helped each other to their feet. Determinedly, she stepped forward toward the chief. Her head still hurt, but part of her was amused when the huge man backed away from her almost fearfully, putting his hands firmly behind his back. He flinched when she touched his arm.

'We need your help, Stoick. We need you to listen. Hiccup was right about that huge dragon queen. I was there with him,' Hiccup made a sound of protest; he had kept her name out of his story in an attempt to shield her from the wrath of the tribe.

But they were in this together. Astrid nodded firmly. 'I was there with him. That queen is our enemy, not the other dragons. We'd been fighting the wrong enemy all this while, Stoick. And hundreds of us had died in vain. Now we've found a way to change our lives for the better,' she stared into the chief's eyes; green like Hiccup's, filled with pain and guilt and anguish, 'Hiccup didn't betray the tribe. He didn't betray you. He just found a way for Vikings and dragons to live in peace. Now no one else's mother or wife would have to die anymore,'

'My mother died in a raid,' Hiccup said quietly from behind her. 'I don't want to lose my father the same way, too,'

Stoick looked at his son as though he was seeing him for the first time. There was a brief silence. Then he turned to her, and gently, very gently, he raised a hand and touched the bruise beginning to form on her forehead. 'Lass…'

'It's fine. I'm fine. You didn't mean to,' Astrid said.

He kept his hand on her cheek. 'Okay,' he said, and looked at Hiccup. 'Okay,'


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

'Are you sure you're okay?' Hiccup asked.

'Yes, Hiccup, I'm fine. And if you ask me that again, I'll deck you,' Astrid said, very sweetly.

Huh. That answered the question. But could anyone blame him for worrying? That bruise on her forehead was spectacular. But this was Astrid, and she was wearing it like a badge of honor even though Hiccup knew she must have a raging headache.

His wife was _tough._

He wasn't going to get the image of Astrid crashing into that chair out of his head anytime soon. He felt like doing something, something a husband would do; maybe kiss her, or hug her. But he knew Astrid well enough to know that she _would _deck him if he did that in front of the others.

They were in the forge. For the first time in Hiccup's memory, the whole gang was there, sitting on stools and workbenches and tables. The Viking warriors were still in the Great Hall, discussing this new… development. And the teenagers, being 'young and largely inexperienced in the art of war', had been told to go away and entertain themselves while the grownups sorted this out.

When Hiccup had set out for the forge, everyone had followed. Suddenly, he was the leader of the gang. It was just weird.

'This is so not fair,' Snotlout whined from his perch on the table, 'we should be in the Hall. After all, _we _found out about that Red Death,'

The Red Death. Tired of saying 'huge, giant dragon that eats other dragons', Hiccup had come up with the name, and it had stuck. Hey, it had red spikes, and made him think of death whenever he thought of it. It wasn't that much of a stretch.

Astrid raised her eyebrow. '_We _found out? I don't remember _you _being there with Hiccup and I,'

Snotlout waved this aside. 'We're the same gang right? Same thing,'

The part of Hiccup that was not worried about Astrid was worried about his father and the rest of the warriors. He couldn't help thinking he and Astrid had failed to factor in a very important point in their tell-grownups-dragons-are-friendly-so-we-can-stop-killing-them plan.

Vikings loved charging head-first into battle.

And Vikings were stubbornness incarnate.

Make that _two_ important points they had failed to consider.

Before his final exam, his mind had been filled with thoughts on getting out of killing the Nightmare; now that he had gotten out of it, this other problem loomed clearly in front of him.

They had no plan, no strategy on defeating the Red Death. Given a few months, Hiccup could maybe probably _possibly _come up with an idea that didn't involve a death toll of half the village. Now that he had told, the matter was taken out of his hands. And the adults were in charge; the battle-loving, stubbornness-incarnate, charge-and-ask-questions-later adults. With the enemy in sight, they would never wait for a safer plan to be formed. The old '_find it, kill it' _would be good enough for them.

Astrid had been right. They had to tell everyone, it was the only way to stop them from killing, and being killed by, dragons. But was this any better? The Red Death was so huge; Stoick was only the size of one of her teeth. A fight would be disastrous for the Vikings.

He had saved the dragons, but had he sacrificed his own people in the process?

'I have a very bad feeling about this,' Hiccup said glumly, almost to himself.

'What on Earth are you talking about?' said Tuffnut. But Astrid and Fishlegs looked at him knowingly, understanding his train of thought.

'Maybe we rushed into this,' Hiccup said to Astrid, 'we should have waited,'

'We didn't have a choice, Hiccup. We had to tell. It was the only way they'd let you get away with not killing that Nightmare,' Astrid said.

'Well, it wasn't really the only way,' Hiccup told her, 'we could have gone away on a vacation, you know; you, me, and Toothless. Forever,' Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?

Astrid rolled her eyes. 'Like you'd ever run away from your tribe,'

'I think I would… if I didn't have a reason to stay,' he looked at Astrid meaningfully. She flushed. Snotlout made gagging noises in the back; but Astrid elbowed him in the stomach and he doubled over.

'Our parents are going to war, right?' said Ruffnut, surprisingly subdued.

'But that's good, isn't it?' Tuffnut looked confused by his sister's lack of enthusiasm.

'It isn't good when their chances of winning are like _your _chances of dating a girl before you die,' Ruffnut retorted. 'Moron!'

'Pimple-face!'

'Bat-ears!'

'Actually, given Tuffnut's lineage and financial status, he _should _be able to date…' began Fishlegs.

'Shut _up_!' Ruffnut snapped.

'You're making it sound like our parents aren't coming back,' Snotlout said dismissively. 'It's a dragon. We go in and we strike and we win. That's not so hard,'

'Haven't you been listening? The Red Death's the size of a mountain,' Hiccup reminded him. But Snotlout was a Viking through and through and remained unimpressed. 'So what? Vikings crush mountains all the time,'

'This mountain may be harder to crush, Snotlout,' said a voice.

Everyone fell silent as Stoick and Gobber came into the forge. One look at their faces and Hiccup knew. 'Dad…'

'Son, we need to borrow your dragon,' Stoick said.

'What? No… but Dad…' Hiccup said pleadingly.

'We're not going to hurt him. We just need him to take us to the dragons' nest,' Stoick said, 'We have to get rid of that Red Death,'

'Haven't _you_ been listening? Dad! That thing is the size of a mountain! You can't fight it!'

'We can't keep living like this either!' Stoick snapped. 'That dragon is eating us out of house and home. We have to get rid of it. Then we'll live in peace. Isn't this what you want? For dragons and Vikings to live in peace?'

'Yes. But you'd have to be _alive _to do that!' Hiccup said desperately, 'Dad, you _can't _fight that thing! Not now! Give me a few months, a few _weeks_, _days_, I don't know. I'll come up with some other way!'

'The food we have left is barely enough to tie the village over the winter,' Stoick said, while Gobber nodded somberly. 'Can you guarantee there will be no raids over the next nine months? They had raided us four times during the summer when game is plentiful. When winter comes, game will be scarce, how many times do you think we will be raided _then_?'

It was during times like this that Hiccup hated Berk's miserable climate – nine months of winter-slash-devastating-winter, three months of summer, with a few days of spring and autumn thrown in between.

'We cannot afford another raid. The whole village will starve. The only way is to put an end to this, right now, before the ice sets in. So unless you have a plan _now, _Hiccup; we set off for Helheim's Gate tomorrow morning,'

He could see the stubborn glint in his father's eyes. And the excitement. Stoick, strong, capable, never beaten, must believe there was nothing the Vikings could not do. Sure, Hiccup's description of the Red Death made it sound like nothing they had ever encountered before; but they were _Vikings_, and they would win this.

'But Dad…' Hiccup could feel his breath hitching. He had lost his mother, and now, for the first time in his life, he faced the very real danger of losing his father, too. This couldn't happen, he had just found his father; for the first time in years his father had looked at him and really saw him, and listened to him. They had reached a new level of understanding.

He wanted more _time _with his father. How could he make Stoick understand that if he left now, there would never be more time?

'You can't… Dad…' _You can't leave me like this, I need you. I can't do without you. _

'Don't worry, son. We're Vikings. There is not much we can't do,' his father said, 'We need your dragon to take us to the nest,'

'Toothless can't fly without me,' Hiccup blurted, and wanted to kick himself for revealing that fact.

'We won't be flying, we're sailing,' Stoick said.

'If Toothless goes, then I'm going with him,' Hiccup said, face set.

'You're not coming,' Stoick snapped. 'You will stay here and keep an eye on things. I'm counting on you now, son. The tribe needs you,'

'_I_'m ready to fight, sir!' Snotlout said enthusiastically.

'All of you are staying right here. No one under the age of twenty is coming! You will stay here where it's safe,'

Hiccup sucked in a breath. Stoick might not fully comprehend the hopelessness of the situation, but he had made sure that the younger generation would at least survive if the warriors of the older generation were lost. 'Dad…'

'You're staying here! Gobber will be in charge. Now I want that dragon!'

Hiccup bit his lip, stood straight, and crossed his arms. 'No,'

They glared at each other. He watched as his father's face went unnaturally red, and his huge hands curled into fists. Astrid moved closer to Hiccup, a hand on his arm, he pushed her behind him. He would not let her be hurt this time.

'Stoick. We don't need the boy's dragon,' Gobber said suddenly, with a worried look on his face. 'If any dragon would do, then just pick one from the ring,'

'Those dragons aren't tame,' Stoick said, breathing heavily. 'We don't have time to train it, and my _son _here will most probably refuse to show us how,'

'We don't have to tame it,' Gobber said, uncomfortable. 'We'll just overpower it, and tie it to the ship,'

Hiccup's heart sank as realization drawn on Stoick's face. 'No, Dad! Dad! Please just listen to me!' he shouted, running after the huge man as he turned to leave. 'Dad please! You'll die! All of you!'

'We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard,' Stoick said gruffly. Then, in a gesture that broke something in Hiccup, he raised a hand and ran his palm softly over Hiccup's hair. 'At least you'll be safe. I expect you to be chief after Gobber trains you up,' He left.

Something was fighting to crawl out of Hiccup's chest, an animal that wanted to scream and sob. His vision blurred, and he blinked rapidly to clear it. The rest of the gang looked stricken. Their parents would be leaving too. It was one thing living with the fear that your parents might not come back from a battle. It was another knowing they wouldn't be back at all. Without a word Fishlegs turned and rushed off toward his home; the Thorston twins followed closely behind.

Snotlout looked paler than Hiccup had ever seen. The enormity of the situation seemed to have finally dawned on him. 'Dad,' he murmured, and left too. Spitelout, Snotlout's dad, was Stoick's second-in-command during battles.

'Hiccup,' Astrid said softly.

'This is all my fault,' Hiccup mumbled.

'Think, Hiccup. _Think_,' Astrid said fiercely. 'We really need a plan now. _What are we going to do_?'

'I don't know,' His mind was blank except for the horror and the devastation. And the recurring, screaming accusation of his conscience, _you did this you did this you did this_. If he hadn't shot Toothless out of the sky; if he hadn't befriended the Night Fury, he wouldn't have _known _all this, and none of this would have happened. He had finally managed to do what everyone had been afraid he would do.

He had managed to massacre his tribe.

* * *

They took the Nadder. It was probably the best dragon to put on a ship. No two heads to worry about, no setting itself on fire, not too heavy, and not too small that they could lose track of it on a Viking ship.

They left as soon as the sun rose. It was another beautiful day, but Berk was devastated. The people who were left were in shock. And the people who did leave were most probably not coming back. It would be a fight to the death. None of Astrid's family had gone, her father couldn't, and her mother was the sole breadwinner of the household. But hers was about the only family unaffected.

Scratch that, her family _was _affected. She was a Haddock now, and Stoick had left.

And Hiccup, her husband, had lost another parent.

Astrid found him on the cliff, the same place she had run off to when she had found out she was betrothed to him. Had it really just been three weeks? Odin, their honeymoon wasn't even over.

He was staring into the distance, where the ships had disappeared. And on his face was misery, hopelessness, and guilt all rolled into one. Silently, she slipped her arm into the crook of his. And they stood there together, watching the horizon.

'Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods?' Hiccup said softly, almost to himself, 'Wouldn't it be better for everyone?'

'Yup. The rest of us would have done it,' Astrid said, trying to keep her voice light, 'So why didn't you?' When he didn't answer, she prompted. 'Why didn't you?'

'I don't know, I couldn't,' Hiccup said.

'That's not an answer,'

'Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?' he tried to pull his arm away from hers, but she held on tight.

_No one's ever listened before, so he's not in the habit of telling_. She remembered her father's words. Please Odin, don't let it be too late. She didn't think she could stand it if Hiccup closed himself off from her. 'Because I want to remember what you say, right now,'

'Oh for the love of…' Hiccup said impatiently. 'I was a coward. I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon,'

'You said _wouldn't _that time,' Astrid said.

'Oh _whatever_, I wouldn't,' Hiccup snapped, jerking his arm forcibly away. 'Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon,'

Why couldn't he see it? See what she could see; what was so blatantly clear that she was amazed she had not seen it earlier. That he was so much more than who he thought he was. 'First to ride one, though,' she reminded him gently.

Hiccup froze. And Astrid waited.

Finally, he spoke, turning around to look at her, searching her eyes. 'I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was,' he admitted, 'I looked at him, and I saw myself,'

She kissed his cheek.

'Wha… why… um…'

It was very gratifying – and entertaining- to see that great brain click off whenever she showed him a little affection. 'And that tells you what kind of person you are,' Astrid told him, smiling.

'What? A coward?' he said stupidly.

'A person with compassion,' she insisted, and punched him so that his head would come back from its trip the clouds. 'You did a good thing, befriending Toothless. Never doubt that,'

'And now the tribe's off to commit suicide,' said Hiccup bitterly.

'It's not your fault. It's either a fast death by the Red Death, or a slow one by starvation,' said Astrid harshly, but felt her chest hurt at the utter helplessness on his face. 'Oh Hiccup, if only we could go after them… fly out on the dragons in the ring, or something. The Red Death's big, but that makes it clumsy, doesn't it? We're small, and if we ride dragons, we'll have firepower too, and our size will allow easy maneuvering. If there's the slightest chance that we could somehow help _destroy_ that thing… Hiccup…'

She stopped. Hiccup had frozen again, and from his eyes she could see the brain that Snotlout claimed was out of this world working rapidly.

'Hiccup?'

Slowly, very slowly, he turned to her, and she could see that a plan was forming. '_Brilliant_. Astrid, you're a genius!' His eyes shone. 'Are you up for something crazy?'

Hiccup's plans never turned out good. But faith was blind, after all. Or was it love that was blind? Either way, Astrid grinned in relief. 'Sure,'

* * *

She gathered the rest of the gang in the ring and filled them in on the plan, while Hiccup left for the cove to get Toothless. The ring was deserted, all the able-bodied guards on their way to the nest. No one would interfere with their plan now.

The others brightened considerably when Astrid told them that they were going to do something after all.

'So what's the plan?' said Tuffnut eagerly, 'How are we getting there?'

'Why can't we bring our weapons?' Ruffnut demanded.

'Is this _Hiccup_'s plan we're following? He doesn't usually have good ones, does he? Now _I _have this awesome idea…' Snotlout began.

'You can just leave,' Astrid told him bluntly.

'I think I know what Hiccup has in mind,' Fishlegs looked at the cages that contained the dragons. 'It's easy to figure out. All the ships are gone, so Hiccup's planning on flying there. And since the Night Fury can't carry all of us, we're all going to…'

A black shadow flew overhead, and they looked up. There was the sound of the wind whistling through wings, the trademark warning for the arrival of a –

'Night Fury!' shouted Fishlegs.

'Get down!' Snotlout added.

'Oh shut up. That's Toothless,' Astrid rolled her eyes.

'_That_ is definitely _not _toothless,' Ruffnut muttered.

'Yeah. Well,' Astrid ran forward to meet them as the boy and dragon landed. The black dragon nuzzled Astrid with a welcoming grunt. 'Hey Toothless,' she never thought she would be so glad to see him. She laid her head against his scaly one and closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them, the other four were staring in slack-jawed amazement.

'You are a god,' Snotlout said reverently, hero-worship in his eyes. Astrid wasn't sure if he was referring to Hiccup or Toothless.

'Guys, listen up,' Hiccup said, and in his voice were quiet authority and determination. 'We're gonna fly,'

He got off the dragon, went to the nearest lever and pulled. The others yelped and huddled together when the cage sprang open to reveal a very surprised Zippleback. It snarled, and Toothless growled warningly, opening his wings and wrapping one in front of Astrid like a shield. He growled again, this time in alarm, when the other teenagers rushed to join Astrid, and she had to rub his head to calm him down.

'It's okay, they're friends. We'll introduce them properly later,' she muttered to him.

One by one, the cages opened. Hiccup could be heard murmuring to the dragons reassuringly.

'Astrid, if you _ever _want to divorce him, I'll be happy to take him off your hands,' Ruffnut muttered to her. Astrid punched her in the shoulder, hard. 'Get your own man,' she said firmly, 'he's mine,'

'C'mon, guys. No time to lose,' Hiccup said, one hand on the Nightmare's snout, the other on the Gronkle's. 'Snotlout, you get the Nightmare,'

'No way!' Snotlout shouted from the relative safety behind Toothless' wing.

'Ruff, Tuff, you get the Zippleback. Fishlegs gets the Gronkle. Astrid, you'll ride with me. Toothless, come here,' Hiccup ordered, and the others gave a collective yelp when the protective wing disappeared from around them. Toothless bounded over to where Hiccup was standing.

Right at the moment, the picture they made would stay forever in Astrid's mind. Hiccup, standing tall, the sun behind him, his face determined; and surrounded by docile dragons.

'Right. Quick lesson on how to train your dragon, pay close attention,' Hiccup said sternly. And they learned.


	26. Chapter 26

I had thought about skipping this chapter altogether. But then I thought of writing it from Tuffnut's point of view; and giving the other teenagers bigger roles than they had in the movie.

Anyway, here's my version of Battling the Red Death.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Sharing a dragon with your sister was _not _cool. But there wasn't a lot of time to complain about it. Anyway, Tuffnut got the head with the sparks, as long it was cooler than his sister's, he was pacified.

Being airborne was great. Things looked really small from way up here, like you could crush a whole island with your foot. There was also the exhilarating knowledge that if you fall, you'd be dead. Now this was excitement for you.

They were flying over the ocean at breakneck speed. Well, Tuffnut had to admit, as cool as riding a two-headed dragon might be, nothing beat riding a Night Fury. That black dragon was _fast_. It was all they could do to stay on his half-artificial tail. Fishlegs, on the Gronkle, was lagging behind but following gamely.

Odin, they were on _dragons_. If they died in this mission, at least they'd be going out with a _bang_. Maybe a _huge _explosion. That would be cool.

Hiccup kept emphasizing on their Goal in this mission. The Goal was to give the adults time to escape. No matter how their mission turned out, the objective was to get everyone back to Berk alive, hopefully with no permanent damage.

They would be pitting their dragons against the Red Death, relying on their speed and agility and blind luck. They would pelt it with shots from their dragons, and get it to finish its shot limit. Neither Hiccup nor Astrid was sure if the Red Death had wings, but they assumed it did since it was a dragon. So Hiccup had told them to focus their firepower on the wings, hopefully damage them and permanently ground the beast. And then…

Well, they'd see how it went from there.

Tuffnut personally thought rushing the dragon –once it was grounded and fireless, of course- and jabbing at it with a spear would be a good idea. Hey, maybe the whole tribe could do the same thing at the same time. That would cause some serious damage. He didn't believe Hiccup's claim that its skin had looked impenetrable.

The first thing they had to do was to find the Nadder - whose flame would be the hottest yet and a great weapon- and drop Astrid off to fly it. And then there would be five of them and they would attack from different spots. Hiccup had even allocated them their respective positions.

'Tuff, Ruff and Lout will focus on the left wing. Astrid and Legs on the right. I'll take the head,'

At which Astrid had protested loudly and persistently. From his position right behind Toothless, it seemed that Astrid was still objecting.

In the distance, smog loomed over a vast area, covering the sea and obscuring everything from sight.

'This is it!' Hiccup shouted. 'Remember guys, it's red with lots of spikes and it is _huge_. You can't miss it! Think of the thing as a moving volcano!'

Hiccup obviously wanted to prepare them for the first sight of the enemy. But his descriptions did the beast _no _justice.

Hiccup had been accurate in saying the Red Death was _huge_. But that didn't exactly convey the aura of evilness, the deadly length of the spikes, the thickness of that armor-like skin – huh, maybe his idea of swarming over it with spears wouldn't work after all.

And Odin, it was _ugly_.

The Vikings looked like ants crawling about at the Red Death's feet. They were all over the place, trying to escape from the huge dragon's feet and tail while they headed for the other side of the island.

'Hiccup, there's no way our people can get off this island!' Fishlegs shouted from the rear, waving and pointing at something on the water.

They turned and saw the entire fleet of ships on fire. There went their escape route. Now how were they supposed to get everyone out of this place alive?

'Not good!' Hiccup shouted, but dived anyway, 'We have to distract it! Give the people the chance to get away!'

'And here we go!' Tuffnut yelled as the Zippleback dipped after Toothless. The Red Death swelled to fill his vision as they closed the distance. The spikes were as long as a full-grown man, the tail a swinging club, its feet the size of Berk's rock pillars.

'This is awesome _and_ scary!' Ruffnut shouted to him as they dodged the tail and flew up, following the arc of the Red Death's back.

And Tuffnut saw someone who wasn't heading for the other side of the island; running about right under its feet and roaring insults was one idiotic Viking; a closer look told Tuffnut it was the chief.

Hiccup saw him the exact moment Tuffnut did. 'Dad! Toothless, now!'

Metallic blue flame blasted from the Night Fury's mouth. Now _that _was cool. The Red Death roared in pain as the ball of fire exploded on its wing; but Toothless had already zoomed out of range when it turned its head to look for the attacker. And Stoick was saved from being bitten in half.

'Ruff! Tuff! Watch your backs!' Hiccup warned. 'Move, Fishlegs!'

Below, the Vikings had caught sight of them, and some had even abandoned fleeing to gawp at them. Unable to resist, Tuffnut waved, 'Look at us! We're on dragons! All of us!'

'Fishlegs, break it down!' Hiccup ordered.

'Okay!' the geek shouted, 'Heavily armored skull and tail made for bashing, steer clear of both! Small eyes, large nostrils, relies on hearing and smell!'

Man, but the geek was really useful sometimes.

'Legs, Lout, hang in her blind spot, make some noise, keep it confused! Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit,' Hiccup looked at them meaningfully. 'Make it mad,'

Oh yes, now that was what he was talking about!

'That's my specialty!' his sister shouted happily.

'Who says? Everyone knows I'm more irritating!' Tuffnut told her.

'Just do as I told you. I'll be back as soon as I can!' Hiccup shouted, and steered Toothless away towards the burning ships. The rest of them scattered to their respective posts. Snotlout and Fishlegs began banging on their shields near its head to distract it.

'Troll!' Tuffnut shouted at the Red Death as they flew past.

'Butt-elf!' supplied his sister.

'Bride of Grendel!' this was his best insult yet.

That did it. The Bride of Grendel roared and shot fire after them. The Zippleback rolled smartly out of the way. Tuffnut screamed in complete elation. Man, this was _fun_!

'C'mon! Is this all you've got?' Ruffnut shouted as they steered the Zippleback around for another go. Tuffnut wanted to blast that giant right in that black-hole-like mouth, just because he _could_. But Hiccup had told them to save their fire for later.

'What's the matter? Getting on in years?' he sniggered instead, 'Too slow to fight?'

'Grandma!' snorted Ruffnut.

'Hag-face!'

'Woohoo!' his sister screamed as fire shot past them. The beast roared furiously and came lumbering after them. Another shot zipped past.

'How many was that?' Ruffnut yelled.

'I don't know! I'm having too much fun to count!' Tuffnut yelled back.

'Um,' Fishlegs shouted. 'This thing doesn't have a blind spot!'

Dodging another shot, Tuffnut looked behind him. The Viking warriors had mostly scattered to a relatively safe distance. Snotlout had somehow ended up on the Red Death's head, and was gamely attacking its many eyes with a hammer. It had a row of eyes right down each side of its face. Huh. So that was why Fishlegs had said the Red Death did not have a blind spot.

Fishlegs had disappeared. Tuffnut couldn't see him or the Gronkle anywhere.

A sudden shot blasted past him from the other direction, its heat so intense that he almost felt his eyebrows sizzle. Astrid came flying on the Nadder, leaning forward, eyes fixed on the Red Death. The Nadder shot fire at the Red Death's wing again. And the huge beast roared, snapping the air ferociously, trying to catch the Nadder with its teeth.

Nadder fire, hottest in the dragon world, must have really _hurt_.

'Get Snotlout out of there!' Astrid shouted at him, before turning around for another shot to distract the Red Death from the Zippleback. Toothless beat her to it. The black dragon appeared out of nowhere, delivered an exploding ball of fire to its side, and swiftly disappeared.

'I'm on it!' Ruffnut shouted.

'I'm on it first!' he shoved his sister. No way was she going to take the credit. They zoomed past the Red Death's head, and Snotlout leapt onboard.

'Get Lout back on the Nightmare!' Hiccup was already back. By Thor, how did he _move _so fast? 'Where's Fishlegs?' Hiccup shouted.

'Here!' yelled a voice somewhere from the Red Death's feet. They could just hear it between all the roaring and screeching. 'We're okay!'

'Get back on! We need to lead this thing further away!' Hiccup directed Toothless upward, 'Circle it, now! Take turns to shoot!'

'Me first!' Astrid dived, and blasted its face. They scattered at the thundering roar and the stream of fire that poured out of the thing's mouth.

'Look at that,' his sister said, wide-eyed. They had never seen dragon fire like that. Like a river of fire instead of a single, short blast. How much gas could it hold in anyway? It would need a mouthful, throat-ful _and _stomach-ful of gas to produce that much fire at one go.

'Ruff, Tuff! Left wing. Now!'

'C'mon!' Ruffnut told her dragon head, who obligingly doused the indicated wing with green gas. Tuffnut waited for her to get clear, then it was his turn. 'Light it,' he told his dragon head.

The explosion nearly blew him off their dragon. He was temporarily blinded by the smoke that enveloped them. 'Ruff!' he yelled in panic.

'That was so _cool_! We almost died!' his sister yelled back from somewhere in the smoke. 'Let's do it again!'

'Hey! I'm still here you know!' Snotlout yelled from behind them, flat on the Zippleback's back and holding on for dear life. 'Drop me off before you two decide to kill yourselves!'

'Twins, get clear! Astrid, right wing!'

There was another blast. The very air vibrated. They sped out of the smoke into cleaner air, circling. Their plan was working somewhat, the beast was coming after them, leaving the warriors further and further behind.

Fishlegs came flying up to them, face sooty but determined. The Nightmare followed, and snotlout did a mighty running leap and managed to grab onto its neck. 'We're up!'

'Alright! Into position!' Hiccup shouted, and directed Toothless to blast in its face. The beast toppled over on its side.

'_Yes_!'

For a split second Tuffnut saw its face. Several of its eyes were shut, green ooze dripping from beneath the lids. Either Astrid or Toothless had blinded several of its eyes. But its wings still seemed undamaged by their repeated firing. And it still had a few eyes left. It was hurt, but not badly enough, and they had made it _mad_.

'Left wing!' Hiccup ordered. The Nightmare fired. The Red Death jerked around to focus on its attacker, but the Nightmare had circled away, and a shot from its right distracted it. As it turned its head to look to the other side, Toothless seared it in the face.

'Duck!' Snotlout shouted as the tail whipped around. The thing was so huge and so _close _that the Zippleback reeled helplessly in the mini whirlwind it made in its wake. Tuffnut hung on grimly.

'It's not weakening!' Fishlegs shouted. 'And we're nearing our shot limits, Hiccup! What now?'

'Hiccup!' Astrid screamed, and pointed.

The Viking warriors were rushing back from the distance in a wave of pounding feet and raised weapons. The battle cries drowned out even the roaring of the Red Death.

'No! _No_! Stay clear, all of you!' Hiccup dodged another fire-river lashing out from the beast. Toothless twisted in the air and blasted it again, temporarily hindering it.

'I'll see if it can still use those wings! The rest of you, block its way back to the people! I'll take this battle to the air!'

'Hiccup, no!' Astrid shouted, leaving her post and flying towards Hiccup. 'You can't do this alone!'

'I have to!'

'_Duck, you idiots_!' Ruffnut screamed. Astrid and Hiccup dodged the next shot from the beast and went right back to arguing.

'Toothless' the quickest dragon we have. And I'm the most experienced rider! I have to do this!'

'I'm not letting you!'

'Can't you two argue later?' Fishlegs yelled, 'Hello!' The Gronkle dropped flaming stones onto the wing on their side, but they rolled harmlessly to the ground. Fishlegs compensated for that by throwing his helmet at one of the many eyes, and saved Hiccup from being turned to cinders by the next blast.

'Our plan's not working, I have to do something else!' said Hiccup.

'At least take me with you!' Astrid insisted.

'No!'

'Do you two want to die?' Snotlout demanded as he circled back to shoot fire at the Red Death's eyes. The next shot missed Astrid by mere inches.

The warriors were almost upon them now.

'If we die, I'm going to kill them both,' Ruffnut said, and they dived in. the beast had opened its mouth. _Perfect_. 'The teeth!' Tuffnut shouted at his sister. They zipped past Astrid, blew gas at the rows of Odin-they're-as-big-as-a-man teeth, and lit the gas.

Fire exploded, and the first wave of Vikings who had reached them was pelted with broken teeth and red blood. The roar of pain was terrible.

They dodged just in time to escape the Red Death's mouth. Tuffnut caught sight of the dark, bottomless pit that was the thing's throat. There was a powerful suction, and Astrid, on the Nadder, was pulled in.

'Astrid!' Ruffnut screamed.

'Night Fury! Get down!'

Blue light exploded. Tuffnut squinted into the glare. The Nadder rolled safely out of the way, but Astrid was falling, screaming, plummeting to the ground. A black shadow blew past, reached her at the last moment, and she was caught in the Night Fury's paws.

'That does it! All of you, stay back!' Hiccup snarled, Tuffnut had never seen him look so angry; he didn't even look frightened anymore. Apparently the attack on Astrid was the last straw. 'Get out of range!' he yelled at them, 'I'm going to make it come after me,' Astrid shouted in protest from her upside-down position in Toothless' grasp; but Hiccup ignored her.

Toothless dropped Astrid off on the ground, and flew straight up, disappearing into the smog, then coming back down to deliver another blast to the Red Death's wing. The beast was once again knocked onto its side.

Tuffnut suddenly realized the Zippleback had landed; and his sister was making a beeline for Astrid; nearly knocking the other girl to the ground in a most un-Viking-like hug. Tuffnut would have sneered at her for it, just on principle, but he was distracted by the Red Death as it spread its wings.

It was as though the whole sky was covered, so huge was the wings. Dust and little rocks showered them as their world grew dark. 'Get clear!' Fishlegs shouted, swooping in on the Gronkle and grabbing both Astrid and Ruffnut; flying with them out of the way of the wings.

The wings swept downwards, the resulting dust storm blowing everyone off their feet, and the Red Death took to the air after Hiccup.

For something so fat, the Red Death could still fly. They stood and stared as Toothless shot past, with the huge beast right on his tail. Rocks and debris showered them as the Red Death knocked down rock pillars in its path. Tuffnut grinned from ear to ear and joined in the wild cheering of the crowd. This was the most amazing battle _ever_!

Then Hiccup directed Toothless upwards, climbing, dodging the streams of fire; the Red Death followed, and both dragons disappeared into the smog.

The cheering died as everyone searched the skies.

'What is he going to do?' Fishlegs whispered in the relative silence.

'He should have let me go with him,' Astrid said tensely.

'Like carrying two Vikings is going to help Toothless move faster,' Ruffnut told her harshly.

'That was just awesome,' Snotlout breathed, 'I've never felt so _alive_,'

'We should totally do this again,' Tuffnut agreed.

'Quiet,' Stoick said hoarsely, coming up to stand beside them and trying to peer into the smog.

There was a blue explosion, like thunder and lightning, and for a brief moment the Red Death was silhouetted in the sky. The people gasped. Then another explosion lit up the sky. And another, and another. Toothless was going in from all directions, concealed by the darkness. The silhouette of the huge beast twisted and turned in the smog, searching for its enemy, roaring furiously.

'Camouflaged by the dark! He's brilliant!' Fishlegs breathed.

Then there was a burst of orange flame, a stream of it, lashing out and filling the entire sky.

'Hiccup!' Stoick shouted.

'There!' Astrid pointed.

A tiny black dot was speeding out of the sky towards the ground at breakneck speed, and even from the distance Tuffnut could see that the Night Fury's artificial tail was on fire. Behind him came the Red Death, mouth opened wide. Bits of blood from its wounded jaw flew in the air behind it.

'Hiccup,' Astrid moaned.

'Get away from there!' Fishlegs shouted.

'It's going to shoot!' Ruffnut yelled.

Then the Night Fury somersaulted in midair, and delivered a single, small blast straight into the Red Death's gaping, gas-filled mouth.

The huge thing _exploded_. Light burst from her mouth and nostrils; Toothless rolled helplessly in the resulting hot air currents and disappeared from sight. The huge wings fanned out, as though the Red Death was trying to pull out of the dive, but they _had _managed to weaken those wings, and holes tore through them in the wind and they shredded away into nothing. The beast came crashing down, and everyone was running back, getting out of the way. The ground shook as the thing hit – too close, too _big_; and there was an explosion so huge it resonated through the whole place and threw everyone off their feet.

Tuffnut was flung through the air, then he hit the ground and rolled helplessly, then slammed into several other people before coming to a stop in a tangled-up heap.

He coughed and choked on dust; his lungs seemed to be filled with it. His leg, head, hip throbbed painfully. The ground was vibrating beneath him, and when he opened his eyes, the dust was so thick he had to close them again. He was tangled up in somebody's limbs, someone else's elbow was in his stomach. He suspected his helmet was digging into yet another person's back.

'Hiccup!' screamed Astrid's voice. 'Hiccup!'

'Hiccup!' Stoick's voice joined hers.

'Geroff me, Lame-brain!' coughed a well-known voice. And he knew his sister was alright.

Tuffnut dislodged himself from his sister and Fishlegs – apparently it had been Fishlegs' elbow in his stomach, Odin that geek had some really hard bones- and was pulled up by his father. Looking around, he saw his mother grabbing his sister into a hug, Ruffnut protesting wildly.

'Mum! You're suffocating me!'

His family was safe. He was so relieved, he didn't even sneer at Fishlegs when the geek ran to his mama.

The smell of burnt flesh was in the air. There was no roar, no growl; not a sound that indicated the Red Death was still alive. As the dust cleared; Tuffnut could not see it anywhere; it was as though it had simply exploded on impact and burned away into nothing.

'We've won,' he said, dumbstruck; they had managed to pull it off. It was unbelievable; and he didn't even think about protesting when his mother came over, dragging his sister, and pulled him in for a hug, too.

But their reunion was cut short; silence was sweeping from the front lines of the crowd to the very back. Deep, heavy silence. The very bad kind. Tuffnut pulled his arm away from his mother's grip and pushed through the crowd in front of him.

Astrid was standing there, right in front, staring and staring at the broad back of Stoick, who was kneeling beside a fallen black dragon. Toothless gave a groan and rolled over a little, and they all saw that the saddle was empty. Rider-less.

Something strange lodge itself in Tuffnut's chest, something he couldn't name. It was something like fear, or panic, or pain, he didn't know. He saw Ruffnut putting a hand on Astrid's shoulder, and saw that Astrid's eyes were suspiciously over-bright.

He had just had the most exciting fight of his life; he had helped bring down the largest dragon in Viking history. Hel, _he _was going down in Viking history. His parents and sister were alright.

But the something strange in his chest refused to go away, and not all was right in Tuffnut's world after all.


	27. Chapter 27

I really like Hiccup with his false leg; I feel as though he would be _less _Hiccup without it.

And I have found that I can't portray grief as well as I want to.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Her heart had stopped.

At first, she just stood there, watching Stoick and Toothless, _she should be there beside them_, but her feet refused to carry her forward. She couldn't even feel her feet. She didn't feel Ruffnut's hand on her shoulder either. Her world had contracted to just one thing.

_Hiccup._

The panic was a roar in her ears, a fog in her brain, a burning in her throat and eyes. Mixed in was an alarming, swelling tide of grief.

_Where was Hiccup_?

He couldn't be… he wasn't… No.

_No_.

Then Toothless moved, opening his wings; and her heart beat again when she saw Hiccup clutched protectively in those paws. She was able to move her legs again, and she sprinted forward. She dropped to her knees beside them as Stoick threw off his helmet and pressed his ear to Hiccup's chest.

'He's alive! You brought him back alive!'

The cheering was a distant sound in her ears.

The next few hours were a blur of activity.

Stoick seemed too stricken to command the people effectively; so Spitelout took over, ordering the people to salvage what they could from the ships, and start repairing some of them. Some of the more seriously hurt warriors were helped over to where Hiccup was laid, so that Ruffnut's healer mother could take a look at them too. Not that Astrid cared about any of those things.

Hiccup's Goal had been fulfilled; no one was dead, and from the looks of things, there was no permanent damage.

Hiccup himself had sustained the worst injury.

He was alive. Astrid tried to focus on that. He was still alive. But he might not stay that way for long. His left foot had been shattered in the battle, and bled steadily. Ruffnut's mother took one look and turned grimly to Astrid and Stoick.

'I have to tell you this, he can't keep that foot. We can't knit the bones back. The sooner we get it off the better. Then we have to get him back to the village, they'll be able to take better care of him there,'

Stoick looked at Astrid. He was white-faced, his eyes dark with anguish. 'Do it,' he said hoarsely.

Astrid had known –of course she had, there was no _chance _that Hiccup's foot could be saved; not when it was a mangled mess of flesh and bone. But it was so un_fair_. Hiccup, gentle, loving, and kind. And so _brave. _Who hated fighting. And among all he was the only person to lose a limb.

Her heart ached for him; for the pain he would go through if… when he woke up. Though right at that moment, she didn't care if he lost both legs and both arms. She just wanted him to live.

_Please just live_. She had so much to tell him, so many things she had to show him. So many things she wanted to do.

Damn it, their honeymoon wasn't even _over_!

She was not able to stay for the amputation. She had to keep Toothless away from the scene. It was a good thing really, because she didn't think she could stand to watch a part of Hiccup being chopped off. And if she had wept, enfolded in the darkness and safety of Toothless' wings, no one knew. Toothless' low, anxious whining drowned out all whimpers she might have produced.

Then came the hard task of separating Hiccup from the protective Night Fury and getting the unconscious boy back to Berk on the Nadder. Toothless was frantic, and Astrid had to reassure him over and over again that yes, Hiccup would be in good hands; and tell him that no, since he couldn't fly, Toothless couldn't come with them and had to wait for the ships.

'Keep him safe. Keep my son safe,' Stoick told her, the hand he placed on her shoulder shaking violently. 'I'll be back to see him soon. Tell him that,'

'Yes, sir,' Astrid said, her heart breaking into two; one part for the son, the other part for the father.

The mournful cry of the Night Fury followed her as she flew off on the Nadder with the unconscious Hiccup tied securely in front of her. The sound tore at her already wounded heart and caused new tears to well.

Stoick had insisted that someone escorted them back. And Ruffnut volunteered. Tuffnut was to stay back to help with the ships. The Zippleback looked strangely lop-sided with only one rider on one head. Ruffnut pulled her dragon head close to the Nadder, and they flew back to Berk together in strained silence.

Astrid wished Ruffnut was not there. She wanted to be alone with Hiccup and her grief.

Just two days ago Hiccup had taken her on her first flight, shown her the world. Two days. Astrid felt like she had lived a lifetime in those two days. She looked down at Hiccup, touching his cheek; when a tear fell on said cheek, she wiped the next one fiercely away.

There was no way Ruffnut would miss how swollen her eyes were in the moonlight. But the other girl said nothing. Astrid would have preferred Ruffnut's usual insensitivity. This was all _wrong_. Ruffnut being so kind seemed to make everything worse.

Did she know something Astrid didn't? Ruffnut was a healer-in-training; was Hiccup's situation direr than Astrid had been told? Was that why Ruffnut was being so nice?

'How's his temperature?' Ruffnut asked suddenly.

'Warm,' Astrid said, her voice hoarse.

'Here, let me feel,' Ruffnut leaned over, and the dragon head she was riding on obligingly stretched even closer to the Nadder. Astrid watched Ruffnut's face closely as the other girl laid a hand on Hiccup's forehead, but her expression did not change.

'He's burning up,' Ruffnut said in a low voice. Astrid's heart sank. That was the worst news for any Viking with an amputated limb.

'Is he going to make it?' she blurted.

Ruffnut shot her a glance. 'If he overcomes the poison of the wounds, he'll live,'

Astrid bit her lip. Hiccup's mother had died from that. Somehow, that thought added to the misery weighing on her chest.

'I shouldn't have let him do it,'

'Please, not this again,' Ruffnut rolled her eyes, 'you know as well as I do there was nothing you could have done,'

She knew that. She _did. _But part of her still thought she could have changed something; if she had gone after him on the Nadder; if she had stopped him; if she had just jumped onto Toothless and refused to get off…

'He should have taken me with him,' she looked at him, watching his face. His eyes were closed. She wanted him to open those green eyes and look at her. But she knew it was a good thing he was unconscious; the pain would be too terrible to bear.

'Once again, you would have slowed Toothless down, then all three of you could have died,' Ruffnut said, pulling back from the Nadder, 'you'll know how stupid you sound right now when you're not all eaten up with guilt and grief…' she stopped abruptly, throat working, blinking rapidly as though searching for words. 'Hiccup won't go down without a fight,' she said finally, flinching.

The words sounded hollow. It sounded like something someone said to try to instill confidence when there was very little hope. Astrid wished Ruffnut had said nothing at all.

'Ruff. Tell me the truth. Do you think he'll make it?'

Ruffnut looked at her helplessly. 'I don't know,'

For once in her life, a conversation with Ruffnut had failed to make her feel better. They flew the remainder of the way in more silence.

The reached Berk a little before midnight.

They were met with spears and axes, but once the people saw that there were actually riders on the dragons, the weapons were lowered.

Ruffnut slid off the Zippleback as the villagers came up to them. 'The warriors are all fine! They'll be back on the ships around dawn! Hiccup's hurt! Someone get the healers and the Elder, now! Some of you, come here and help get Hiccup down. And _don't _shake him or anything,'

Under the circumstances, no one minded being ordered around by a teenage girl. A few people left at once to inform the healers and the Elder. Two burly men came up to the Nadder, and untied Hiccup from the dragon with gentle hands. 'Get him to the Haddock house,' Ruffnut ordered, 'Astrid, go with him. I'll stay here and handle things,'

Everyone in Berk was pulled in two directions by the news; ecstatic that everyone was alive, and sad that Hiccup might soon not be. Gobber was frantic, hovering over Hiccup like a mother hen. Both he and Astrid were shooed out of the house when the healers began working on Hiccup, re-bandaging his stump, cleaning his other minor wounds.

People crowded around in mournful silence. In just a few weeks Hiccup had changed from Hiccup the Useless to Hiccup the Powerful. And the Vikings began to demonstrate their knack for selective memory.

'That boy, always polite,'

'He had a way of thinking, he could have changed our lives for the better,'

'His swords were always the best,'

'He was the most hardworking lad I'd ever seen,'

No one mentioned the messes Hiccup used to cause, what a screw-up he had been. Astrid actually wished they did. She wanted them to make jokes about Hiccup's un-Viking-ness. She wanted them to laugh and say _hey the boy's lost a limb! Now he's really one of us! _The way they were praising Hiccup made it sound as though he was going to die for sure.

Gobber, who lacked two limbs, looked sick with worry. Astrid didn't know what to make of it. It didn't inspire much confidence.

When the healers were done, the Haddock house swarmed with silent visitors; everyone behaving as though they were paying their last respects to the son of their chief. They had taken the bed from Hiccup's and Astrid's room and placed it downstairs, putting it near the hearth, and on it Hiccup lay, unresponsive, and pale as death.

There was nothing much Astrid could do except to adjust Hiccup's furs and try to make him comfortable, all the while trying to ignore the stares and the whispered comments of the people gathered around the bed.

Why didn't everyone just _leave_?

She fed him willow bark tea, trying not to think about the night when he had done the same for her. Patiently, she wiped away the tea that had dribbled down his slack chin. She was taking care of him, and it felt so right. She _needed _to do it, because he was important to her. So very important.

Finally, the people left. They had meant well, but they left Astrid drained, miserable, and alarmingly weepy. Her mother stayed, sitting in a chair and silently passing Astrid a piece of cloth, which Astrid used to wipe gently at Hiccup's face.

And finally, with only her mother witnessing, Astrid let the tears come.

'Here, lass,' her mother gathered her to herself, offering comfort. Astrid burrowed into her embrace like she was a child again, seeking reassurance.

'There now, lass. Hiccup's a stubborn boy, he'll get through this,'

She didn't know that. None of them knew that. She was terrified that by the time the ships returned, Stoick and Toothless would be too late to say goodbye. She was terrified that Hiccup's labored breathing would cease the next minute.

Her mind was full of him, his smiles, his jokes, the light in his eyes, the way he stammered when he spoke to her, the way he had hugged her. And there was a hole in her heart. A huge, gaping, Hiccup-shaped hole. And she couldn't tell him how much he meant to her. She might never be able to.

How would she survive this hole?

_Please, please Hiccup. Give me a sign. Give me something to hold on to. Something… anything… _

He never moved.

She didn't know how long she cried; she cried herself to utter exhaustion, and slept; and in her sleep, she dreamed.

She was in a meadow, and Hiccup was there in the distance, walking away from her. She shouted for him, hurrying after him. But no matter how fast she ran, he drifted further and further away. Then fog enveloped her, and she could see nothing. In her dream, she stopped amidst the tall grass and wept.

Then Hiccup was there, looking terrified and helpless as he stared at her. _Don't cry, Astrid._

_I'm not crying. _Astrid retorted. _I'm just really cold._

And Dream-Hiccup opened his arms to her. _Come here_. And she was wrapped up in warmth and safety.

_Don't leave. Don't leave me alone. _She told Dream-Hiccup.

_I'm not going anywhere._

When Astrid woke up, it was dawn. Her mother had tucked her into bed beside Hiccup. He was still unconscious, still as pale as death. There was no change for the better, no improvement in his condition. His fever raged.

The warmth from the dream disappeared, and Astrid wept a little more.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

It had been a week since the battle with the Red Death.

Fishlegs spent his time teaching the tribe how to ride dragons. He was the most suitable person for the job. The Thorston twins were too impatient with the people, Snotlout too rough with the dragons. Hey, he still had trouble with his own Nightmare.

It was no use asking Astrid. She was glued to Hiccup's side most of the time, and Hiccup himself was still unconscious. Fishlegs tried not to think about that part.

Hiccup's unconsciousness was largely medicinal-induced now, to keep him separated from the pain and let his body heal. The few times he had woken up, he had alternated between being delirious with fever and screaming with pain. The rest of the time he just lay there, white and unmoving under the furs. Stoick, Astrid and Toothless, who kept vigil over Hiccup night and day, had identical bedraggled, shrunken looks that said only too clearly they had slept very little and skipped too many meals. Fishlegs had visited Hiccup a couple of times, but as each visit added to his guilt, he stopped going.

He still saw Stoick performing his chieftain duties sometimes; but everyone could see the chief's heart was not in it. His large bulk seemed to have diminished somehow, and he relied more and more on Spitelout and Gobber to settle affairs in the village. Fishlegs felt awful for the chief; he had seen Stoick like this only one other time, when Valhallarama had been sick, then died. But the chief had recovered, probably because there had been Hiccup to look after. And now talk had been circling the village, about how Hiccup might go the same way his mother did, dying from poison of the wounds.

Would the chief recover this time if Hiccup faded away?

That didn't help with the guilt Fishlegs seemed to carry around on his person day after day.

So he focused on –ha ha- dragon training. Dragons were coming to Berk now that no one was out to kill them anymore, and there were plenty to go around. Some of the adults, and all of the children, were very eager to adopt a dragon and to learn to fly. His most enthusiastic student for the time being was –surprise, surprise- Old Man Hofferson. Astrid's father had chosen a Gronkle, and was doing very well, better than anyone, really.

Fishlegs thought it was poetical justice that since a dragon had taken away the man's mobility, a dragon was now giving it back. But Old Man Hofferson's reason for learning to ride dragons was very simple. 'My aim is to dazzle my son-in-law with my dragon-riding skills when he wakes up,' he had told Fishlegs with a wink, 'To show him I'm all for his idea of peace between Vikings and dragons, you know,' There were still people who were against the idea of sharing the village with friendly dragons, but they were the minority.

'But being able to get out of that wheelbarrow is a definite plus, trust me,' Old Man Hofferson had then added excitedly. '_And_ I get to tell my dragon here to _blast _down anyone I don't like who gets into my way, that's the best part!'

'That's… nice, Mr. Hofferson,' Fishlegs had said weakly.

He wished he shared Mr. Hofferson's optimism that Hiccup would most definitely get well. _No _one in the village shared it, though Mrs. Hofferson tried hard to; Fishlegs suspected the woman only tried so hard to be cheerful for Astrid's sake.

Gobber was strangely subdued. Fishlegs knew their teacher had always had a soft spot for Hiccup. He now worked alone in the forge, and several times Fishlegs, sent over on errands, had caught him just standing there and staring into the distance with a melancholy look on his face. He had adopted a pink Terrible Terror that, for some unknown reason, kept sneaking into the Haddock house; and would bring it over to visit Hiccup every evening.

The other adults seemed less affected by Hiccup's condition. Sure they were sad, but that was life as a Viking for you. Some adults even went as far as to suggest building a statue of Hiccup in the plaza. While having your statue in the plaza was a great honor; one would only be built for you after you'd died. Fishlegs left as soon as such talk came up.

Since dragon training wasn't taking up all his time, he also accepted Gobber's request for help in directing the building of roosting places for the dragons. Between teaching and building and meeting new dragons, he had very little time to think about Hiccup dying. And to torture himself with different ideas of how he could have prevented Hiccup from losing his leg.

If he had thought to suggest to Hiccup to change that artificial tailfin to one that couldn't be burned off… like one made from dragon hide or something, then Hiccup wouldn't have lost his leg… If he had directed his Gronkle to fire more rocks; if he had tried harder; if he had blinded more of the Red Death's eyes…

Too many 'if's, all too late now.

'You look busy,' said a voice, and Fishlegs, pulled out of his thoughts, looked up to see Ruffnut staring at him.

They were on the docks. The very place where he and Ruffnut had their first meaningful conversation. Well, as meaningful as a conversation with one of the Thorston twins could ever be.

'I _am_ busy. I have to deliver this bucket of fish to the plaza. Gobber's building this giant dish thing there so the dragons can feed…' he trailed off as Ruffnut just stared at him. 'What?'

'You should go see Hiccup,' she said bluntly. 'I just came from there. He looks much better,'

'No,' Fishlegs said quickly, 'I… just… no,'

Ruffnut crooked her head to one side. 'Stoick's not there now, if you're feeling apprehensive about meeting the chief…'

'I'm not afraid of Stoick,' he protested. Did she really think he was that much of a wimp, to be afraid of the _chief_?

Ruffnut was beginning to smirk. 'Well, if it's Astrid who worries you, she's not going to kill every visitor to the Haddock house, at least she hasn't started killing yet…'

'I'm not afraid of Astrid,'

'So it's _Toothless_ who's stopping you from visiting Hiccup?' Ruffnut stared incredulously, 'how can you be afraid of _Toothless_? He's the least frightening of the three!'

Fishlegs was beginning to be annoyed. Sure, a lot of people thought he was some sort of a wimp, but he didn't like the notion that _Ruffnut _thought that too. 'I'm not afraid of Toothless,'

'So you're afraid of Hiccup? He's unlikely to spring out of bed and attack you, you know,'

'That's why! That's exactly why I don't want to see him!' _See him look like death; see him without his leg. When it should be _anyone _else in his place. _

That was exactly why he didn't want to visit - _Hiccup was unlikely to spring out of bed_.

Ruffnut just looked at him, arms crossed.

'I just… He's always been kind to me,' he told her with a sigh, 'He has never been anything _but _kind to me. But all my life I had been so glad that he was even weirder than I am, because when he was less welcomed, then _I _wasn't the worst Viking in our gang. Then he became this great dragon fighter and I… I resented him for it, because then _I _was the worst Viking… and now Hiccup's just lying there, missing a leg, and he had saved everyone_. _He saved _me,_' Fishlegs shook his head. 'He didn't deserve it. When I see him lying there, I think off all the times I could have been there for him, but wasn't,'

He thought Ruffnut would sneer, or make some scathing remark about his being too sentimental. But she merely nodded, as though she _understood_. 'It should be easier for you,' she said bluntly, '_You _don't have to look at him and remember all those nasty things you used to say about him,'

'It shouldn't be Hiccup lying there. He shouldn't have to lie there. I should have thought of a back-up plan,' Fishlegs said. 'I could have saved Hiccup's leg. Just some minor planning-ahead…'

'And Tuff and I should have tried getting that monster angrier; if we had got it to finish its shot limit, then Toothless' tailfin wouldn't have been burned off,' Ruffnut said.

'That thing didn't have a blind spot. So maybe it didn't have a shot limit, either,' Fishlegs told her, with a strange desire to make her feel better.

'And you didn't have time to come up with a back-up plan,' Ruffnut said simply.

She was actually right. Flying off to rescue the tribe had been a last-minute thing.

'And you're weird alright,' Ruffnut said, getting back to what he had said earlier. 'But I'm starting to get used to it. It's not as annoying as it was before. And that doesn't make you the worst Viking in our gang. You're… nice. That makes up for a lot of your weirdness,'

He didn't know what to say to that. There was an awkward silence.

'So… um. How's Astrid?' he asked lamely.

'Terrible, she looks like a hag,' Ruffnut grinned and seemed delighted by this new topic. 'You should totally go see her. You'll never get the chance to again,'

'And why would I want to see Astrid now?' he asked, confused. Didn't girls hate it if you saw them when they were not at their best?

'Because she had never looked like a hag until now. Seeing her so _imperfect_ is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. You can't miss that. Think of it as getting an education,' Ruffnut knocked the bucket of fish from his arms and pushed him toward the village.

Something had changed during his conversation with Ruffnut. He no longer felt so guilty, or as depressed. And when he realized that Ruffnut was leading him up the hill toward the Haddock house, he didn't feel as panicky.

'It's nice, isn't it? Having friends?' he said quietly.

'Of course. They're like siblings but not as annoying,' Ruffnut agreed readily. 'And you don't have to _live _with them,'

Fishlegs smiled. He was beginning to understand his friends now. Ruffnut was crazy, Astrid fierce. Tuffnut was crude and Snotlout was all talk. Hiccup was sarcastic. And underneath all those was a caring nature; just that some were buried much – _much - _deeper than others. He experienced a sudden burst of affection for all of them. His gang.

'Ruff,' he said, smiling, 'Thank you,'

For a moment they looked at each other, silent. Fishlegs had the distinct feeling that he and Ruffnut had reached a new level of understanding.

'Don't mention it. I mean that, don't _ever _mention it,' she flushed a little, endearingly, and his heart gave a curious little leap. 'And don't tell Astrid what I said about her, you know, being hag-like and all that,' she added, not looking at him.

They were almost to the Haddock house when Ruffnut spoke again. 'Oh, and by the way, the healers came over to the Haddocks' place this morning, and they announced that Hiccup will live, after all. His fever had gone down; so has the swelling in his stump. Last I heard everyone was planning a party to celebrate,'

Fishlegs stopped in his tracks. 'But that's great! That's big news!' he said, waving his arms in the air. Then he narrowed his eyes, 'And I had been feeling awful throughout our entire conversation, for nothing. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?'

Ruffnut sniggered. 'Because it's more fun this way,'

And she pushed him into the Haddock house through the door; and succeeded in what Fishlegs suspected she had set out to accomplish - distracting him from his misery.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Snotlout basked in the admiration of fans as he walked through the village. Some girls were even following him around, giggling and whispering. Hey, slaying the Red Death definitely had its perks. Of course he had been part of a team, and Hiccup had done most of the killing. But no one needed the details, right?

Still, a foreign, uncomfortable feeling wormed its way into his chest whenever he thought about his cousin, lying on a bed without his foot. Snotlout couldn't name that feeling, but it always made him feel kind of sad. Hiccup should just wake up quickly so that Snotlout could bask in his new status of village hero without being bothered by strange feelings.

Feelings. Odin, he was turning into a _girl_.

Word had traveled, had circulated for days, that his cousin would be alright. They even had a feast days ago to celebrate. But Snotlout hadn't really believed that –hey, healers had been known to be wrong sometimes, like the time when they had said Astrid's father wouldn't live; and the time they had announced that Bucket's head would be right as rain after his skull had been fractured in a raid.

Then he saw Astrid pulling Toothless out of the Haddock house for a walk.

There was no way Astrid would leave Hiccup even for a minute unless he really was getting better. Snotlout brightened. Hey, maybe now those weird feelings would go away.

'Hey, Astrid,' he waved to get her attention. 'How's Hiccup doing?' Strangely, he no longer felt jealous when he thought of Astrid with Hiccup. When had that happened?

She looked surprised that, for once in years, Snotlout was talking to her and he wasn't flirting.

'He's okay. He's still… sleeping. I'm taking Toothless here for a walk. He's been cooped up inside far too long,' she grimaced, 'And he needs a proper meal,'

'He hasn't eaten?' Snotlout looked at the dragon in surprise. His own Nightmare would sulk unless he was given two whole buckets of fish a day. Snotlout now had a new kind of respect for the Night Fury.

'Yes he had. A little. Not much, not a proper meal… not since the… battle,' Astrid said with a gulp, and looked a little sad. 'Anyway, I've got to go. It took me forever to convince Toothless to come out of the house, I don't want him to change his mind,'

'Okay… I'm just going to go… see… Hiccup,' Snotlout said. Huh. He actually hadn't been thinking about going to see Hiccup, but since he had said it, it didn't seem like a bad idea. Astrid shot him a suspicious glance. He held up both hands defensively. 'I'm not going to do anything. He's… um...'

He was his cousin, and a great hero; and Snotlout was actually sorry he had made his life miserable for the last seven years. Not that he was ever going to tell Hiccup about the 'sorry' part. He had a reputation to uphold.

'It's okay,' Astrid said with a half-smile, 'I'm sorry, I'm just tired. Go ahead,' She led Toothless away.

Snotlout met Stoick halfway up the hill. The chief had color back in his cheeks again, and was discussing something with Gobber with all his old enthusiasm and interest. 'Snotlout,' the chief boomed when he caught sight of him, and actually smiled, 'Do you need anything, son?'

'No, I'm fine. I'm… I'm just on my way to see Hiccup,' Snotlout found himself saying.

The chief _beamed_. It was evident even with the beard covering half his face. It was also strangely disturbing. He was _Stoick_. He had no business _grinning_ like that.

'Go right along, son! Healers came by this morning, said Hiccup should wake up anytime now!' Stoick said happily. Ah. That would explain why the chief was so happy.

And so Snotlout found himself in the Haddock house, the very house that he had once dreamed of living in; facing the very person he had wanted to replace as chief.

His cousin did look better. There was color in his cheeks, his breathing was soft and even. Under the furs, the shape of his left foot was smaller, and strangely distorted. Gobber had fixed him a metal leg. Snotlout knew that Gobber was working on a new tailfin for Toothless too, according to the measurements and function detailed in Hiccup's notes.

His cousin's brain was really out of this world, but it no longer bothered Snotlout.

'You'd better get well soon,' he said, 'or I'm getting your girl and your dragon. I… I just want you to know that you didn't _win_ the girl. I _let _you have her. There are other fish out there in the sea, after all. Hey, a couple of girls checked me out today. They're eighteen, you know? I should totally go for an older woman,'

He felt stupid. Why was he even telling Hiccup all this? And his cousin was asleep. Odin, Hiccup could make him feel stupid even when he was asleep.

'You'd better get up,' he said quietly. 'I changed my mind. I don't want to be chief after all. You're not getting out of it and sticking me with the stinking job. I'll be more than fine with being second-in-command,'

For he had seen and realized the true meaning of being chief. It wasn't just to order people around and have his own way. Being chief meant sharing his successes, and being solely responsible for the failures. It meant being first to charge the enemy, and retreating last in a losing battle. It meant protecting your people at all costs.

Somehow, he was sure Hiccup would make a fine chief. So what if his cousin couldn't throw a knife to save his life? He had Toothless now. And he had a brain that was out of this world. That was a formidable weapon indeed. He was also the bravest, most resourceful person Snotlout knew.

'You did good, cousin,' Snotlout told him, and for the first time in seven years, he laid his hand on Hiccup's shoulder without the intention of inflicting pain. 'We're all really proud. You should wake up soon and milk that for all it's worth,'

Then he left hurriedly, hoping no one saw his sappiness. By Thor, Hiccup should just wake up so everyone could go back to normal! He set off to find Tuffnut. A good fight would get rid of the sappiness and reassert his manliness.

* * *

His pep talk must have done wonders. That afternoon Hiccup woke up. The happy shouts of 'Look! It's Hiccup!' reached the skies, literally, for he was flying on Hookfang – his Nightmare- and heard.

'Hey guys!' Tuffnut shouted from one of the Zippleback's heads. 'Hiccup's up. Let's go,'

They circled back down and landed halfway up the hill. Snotlout sat back on his dragon and watched the scene. They were just close enough to hear every word being said. His cousin was limping out of the house, supported by Toothless on the left, Astrid on the right. He looked confused by all the attention, and stared in disbelief at the dragons that wandered around the village. He openly gaped at the sight of some of the grownups riding dragons.

As Old Man Hofferson hovered over him, grinning and waving wildly, 'Look son! I'm on a dragon! Beats having movable legs _anytime_,', Hiccup said dazedly, 'I knew it, I'm dead,'

Stoick snorted. 'No, but you gave it your best shot,'

People were crowding around, leaving their work aside, swarming up the hill. The Elder, the warriors, the kids; and a gaggle of twittering fangirls. The clapping and cheering must reach the skies; it was so loud. Everyone seemed to want talk to Hiccup, everyone wanted to pat him on the shoulder. There were beaming smiles, shouts of laughter, congratulatory speeches coming from everywhere. Hel, _Stoick_ was beaming again. Mrs. Hofferson grabbed Hiccup into a hug, and he only just managed to stay on his feet because Astrid was still supporting him. The pink Terrible Terror that belonged to Gobber wanted to climb all over him.

Snotlout was glad his cousin was up, really glad; but right at that moment he was more interested in the fangirls. By Thor, Hiccup had fangirls. And he was married. Some of those girls had been trailing after _Snotlout_ just that morning! This was so unfair.

Fishlegs fidgeted on the Gronkle. 'Should we go over there?'

'Nah. Looks like a really sappy scene, feels safer here,' said Tuffnut, sounding bored, but the huge grin on his face gave him away. He was evidently as happy as Snotlout that Hiccup had woken up.

Well, a reputation was a reputation. He had to maintain his image as the tough, heartless Viking he was.

'Yeah, I don't do sappy,' Snotlout said firmly. 'Let's just stay here. The view's good enough,'

'Afraid you'll bawl like a baby once you get too close?' Ruffnut smirked.

'Of course not!' both Snotlout and Tuffnut snapped at her.

'Turns out all we needed was little more of… this,' Stoick was telling his son.

'You just gestured to all of me,' Hiccup looked even more dazzled.

Astrid, who was still supporting him while glaring daggers at the chirping fangirls, now unwrapped Hiccup's arm from around her shoulders. 'Are you steady on your feet now?' she asked, distracting him from a talk with Gobber about his metal leg. Hiccup nodded. 'Good,' said Astrid, and punched him on the shoulder.

He yelped like a girl. Odin. Some things just didn't change. Snotlout snorted from his perch on Hookfang's neck.

'That's for scaring me,' Astrid told Hiccup sternly.

'Oh what… wait. Is it always going to be this way? Cause…' the rest of his words was drowned when Astrid grabbed him by the shirtfront and kissed him right on the mouth, in front of everyone. And Snotlout didn't even feel bad about it. Instead he joined in the laughing and clapping.

Hiccup had the most stupid, slack-jawed look on his face when Astrid released him. 'I could get used to it,' he said dazedly.

The fangirls pouted in anger and disappointment. Astrid flung them a victorious look.

'Odin, _all_ the girls are fighting over Hiccup. We're losers, man,' Tuffnut pulled his Zippleback head closer and punched his shoulder, 'we really have to get ourselves a girlfriend. You too, Legs,'

To Snotlout's surprise, both Fishlegs and Ruffnut went red.

'I've no idea what you're talking about,' Fishlegs mumbled, not looking anyone in the eye.

On the hill, Gobber was presenting Hiccup with the newly manufactured tailfin, causing Toothless to jump around in excitement, knocking a few Vikings off their feet in the process. But Snotlout didn't care about that. His brain, not used to the exercise, was turning rustily.

Fishlegs went red at the mention of getting a girlfriend. Okay, that was fairly normal. It was _Fishlegs._

But Ruffnut going red at the same time? Now that was strange. Ruffnut _never _blushed. And at the _same_ time? That was just weird.

Unless…

Finally, his brain clicked. 'Hey, there's nothing going on between you two, right?' Snotlout said.

'No!' Ruffnut blushed scarlet.

'What… she said,' Fishlegs went from pink to crimson.

Tuffnut narrowed his eyes. 'Am I missing something here?'

'No, you're not missing anything, at all,' Ruffnut said in a low, dangerous voice. The look she threw Snotlout promised retribution.

'I've got to go. I have to feed Meatlug,' Fishlegs hurried away with his Gronkle.

'Oh no you don't! come back here!' Tuffnut urged his dragon head to go after Fishlegs, but Ruffnut urged hers to stay put. At stalemate, the twins turned to each other and lunged.

Snotlout sat back on Hookfang's neck and prepared himself to be highly entertained. The fighting twins attracted some attention, and Hiccup looked over in their direction. Snotlout waved cheerfully.

Hey, Hiccup was up, everything was normal again. No more strange, girly _feelings_. And he had found that maybe using his brain –sparingly, and only when the result would be entertaining - wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	30. Chapter 30

Special thanks again to **EvaninEreska**; you know why. :)

And to **Dominosowner**, who reviewed probably _every_ chapter. It really means a lot.

And to **Eienvine**, my very first reviewer; your encouragement was what actually prompted me to go on writing the 2nd chapter.

And to everyone else who reviewed, I can't list everyone out here but I really appreciate all the comments and the advice. Thanks for being patient with my mistakes.

Finally, the last chapter.

Fluffiness abound. Let's just assume that Astrid's being OOC is a temporary result of her utter relief at having Hiccup back again.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty**

Flying on Toothless was perhaps one of the most enjoyable experiences of Hiccup's life. But he found out that flying on Toothless _with_ his friends – when they weren't hurrying to stop one suicide mission or another- was even better. It ranked right up there among the first five on his new list of enjoyable experiences, just a little below kissing Astrid _on the mouth_.

Odin, she had kissed him on the mouth. _Twice. _The first time, he had just woken up from what felt like a century-long sleep, his muscles had been screaming, his head as heavy as a rock, and his leg throbbing; he hadn't even had time to figure out where he was before she had leaned over him and kissed him _right on the mouth. _And it was nothing like that kiss their shared during their wedding ceremony. It was warm and great and felt so _right_. _And _it beat being kissed on the cheek. _And _she had done it again after they went outside; right in front of the entire village. She had actually been jealous of the fangirls he now had.

And he knew he had that goofy look on his face again.

Toothless peered at him and sniggered knowingly. He nudged the snorting dragon aside. 'What are you looking at?'

They had landed in the cove - Hiccup liked to think of it as Toothless' Cove – after winning a race with the others. It had been a little difficult at first, as Hiccup was still learning how to control the tailfin with his new metal leg. But then instinct had taken over, and he and Toothless had won the race easily.

Now, in the serenity of the cove, he sat down and looked at his metal leg. It still gave him a shock to see it, and a twinge of sadness. He wondered if things would be any different if his father had not forced him to marry Astrid. Would he still be here? He probably would have left on that 'vacation forever' with Toothless when he had had to kill that Nightmare. Then he wouldn't have found out about the Red Death and he wouldn't have lost his leg.

But then, he also wouldn't have what he had now. His tribe was safe, the dragons were safe; and they were all living peacefully together just as he wanted._ And_ he was a great hero now. A missing leg seemed a small price to pay for all that.

And he had Astrid. That was the best part of all. What was a missing foot compared to not having Astrid in his life?

Besides, missing limbs were common among warrior Vikings. It helped that one of the people he most respected had a missing foot _and _a missing hand. His metal leg worked about as fine as his old flesh-and-bone one did anyway; and he was only about as clumsy as ever.

It hurt a little when he stayed on it too long, though. Oh who was he kidding. It hurt like _Hel_. But Gobber had said that was normal, and that he'd get used to it in time. Hiccup privately thought he would never get used to looking down at his foot and seeing metal instead of flesh.

As though sensing his mood, Toothless came over and laid his head on his knee, whining a little. Smiling, he scratched his best friend's head. 'Thanks bud, I'm alright,'

Toothless closed his eyes and purred. There was a deep, fresh scar on the side of his neck, a healing pink; Toothless had not escaped unscathed from the battle either.

A shadow flew overhead. Both he and Toothless looked up. Hiccup grinned stupidly when he saw that it was Astrid on her Nadder – Astrid had named her Stormfly, it was somehow appropriate that the dragon of the only non-hideously-named Viking had the only non-hideous dragon name. Toothless growled a little and seemed resigned that their little secret retreat was not so secret anymore.

'Hi Astrid,' somehow, he had overcome the urge to stammer whenever she was around.

'I took my eyes off you for one second and you were gone,' she said accusingly, getting off her dragon, who went immediately to the water to preen herself. Astrid came over, giving Toothless a meaningful look. Toothless snorted in disgust and moved away, and Astrid took his place beside Hiccup. Defiantly, Toothless curled up behind Hiccup, and when he automatically used the dragon as a backrest, Toothless sniggered smugly at Astrid.

'Yes, you're very useful and Hiccup can't do without you,' Astrid told him with a roll of her eyes, then focused on Hiccup. 'You okay?'

'I just got a little tired,' Hiccup grinned stupidly at her as she sat down beside him.

'You just got up today,' she said simply, 'you'll get your strength back,'

'Yeah…' he said. But she was peering at him with her trademark piercing gaze, the one that seemed to look right through him.

'Is that all? You're just tired?' she said sternly.

He flushed. 'Well… um. My leg hurts a little,' he admitted reluctantly, then yelped when she reached over and roll up his trouser leg. 'Astrid! Wait! What are you doing?'

She looked up, her hand stilling underneath his restraining ones. 'I've seen it before,' she said simply.

'You haven't seen it while I'm awake,' he said shortly.

Her eyes narrowed. 'It's part of you, Hiccup,' she said.

'Yeah. But it's really weird and ugly,' he said, 'Don't get me wrong, I like a scar as much as the next person, but…' he looked down at his leg, 'I just thought my first battle scar would be smaller, you know,'

Toothless whined in sympathy.

'It was a huge dragon,' Astrid said, 'Huge dragon, huge scar. It's a mark of valor,' she looked at him seriously. 'You saved our lives, Hiccup,'

'Yeah. Who would've thought, right?' he smiled a little. Toothless snorted, very loudly. 'Yeah, yeah. We know you did all the work,' Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

Astrid laid her hand on his metal leg and looked at him quietly. 'Let me,'

He wanted to jerk away, but he felt as though this was something important, like another milestone in his and Astrid's life together. He was actually thinking about a life with Astrid now; it didn't seem too out-of-reach anymore. And if they were going to live with each other, his leg could not remain an issue between them, right?

He swallowed. 'Okay,'

She unfastened the metal with quick, practiced skill. She wasn't lying, she _had _seen his leg –stump- and she must have even helped put the metal parts on him too, while he had been asleep. She put the metal aside, and sat with his stump in her lap. Gently, almost absent-mindedly, she ran her fingers slowly over his healing scar. 'Does it hurt too badly?' she asked.

Something swelled in his chest; he rather thought it was his heart, and he thought it wouldn't be able to contain all the warmth he was feeling. 'No,' he said, his voice hoarse.

She nodded, not looking at him, focusing instead on her fingers as she traced random patterns on his knee. 'You'll tell me when the pain gets too bad, right?'

'Sure,' Hiccup said slowly, looking at her. She was too quiet, and looked too pensive. She wasn't going to start bawling, right? He had had enough of that when his mother-in-law had grabbed him and wept all over his shoulder in relief. While it had felt really nice to be appreciated, it was not an experience he was in a hurry to repeat.

'Astrid? Are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' she said, very quickly.

This was probably a girl thing; when a girl said _I'm fine _in that hurried way while avoiding your eyes; she usually meant the opposite. Hiccup wondered if it was wise to keep probing.

'Astrid,'

'It's just… I just…' she stammered. Since when did _Astrid_ stammered when she spoke to him?

'It's okay. You don't have to say it if you don't want to,' Hiccup assured her.

I saw Toothless' tailfin on fire,' she said quickly, as though wanting the words out before she lost her nerve, 'I saw you go down. And then… for the longest time… you didn't wake up. And I thought, that was it; I'd never have the chance. I'd never be able to tell you that… that…'

She looked at him then, and her eyes were over-bright. Concerned, he leaned forward. 'Hey, are you crying?'

'No,' she said quickly. 'I'm…' she faltered, 'I'm just…' then, very quietly, 'I'm just really cold,'

Cold? It was summer in Berk – well, as summer as Berk would ever hope to get- and it was almost evening; it was warm enough for Hiccup to shed his fur coat. He looked at her, not comprehending. She wasn't shivering. A pretty flush was creeping up her cheeks. She still wasn't looking at him, and she looked faintly embarrassed.

He shot Toothless a look, but the dragon crooked his head to one side and shrugged an unmistakable _don't look at me, _you_ deal with it._

Hesitatingly, wondering if he had interpreted Astrid correctly, he opened his arms. Hey, the worst that could happen was that she'd hit him for suggesting it, and getting punched by Astrid was nothing new. 'Come here,' he said.

She scooted forward at once and buried her face in his shoulder. He didn't misinterpret her after all, he thought dizzily as he wrapped his arms around her.

'You scared me,' she said, without heat.

'I'm sorry,' he said, closing his eyes and just savoring the feeling of having her so close. His heart was swelling again; it could be a sign of heart disease, but it felt so nice he didn't care. 'What were you going to tell me?' he asked. When she didn't reply, he opened his eyes, looked at her, and found that she was blushing.

'I… I wanted to tell you… I want…' she stammered, and went redder. 'I just… never mind,'

'I went down in the battle,' he teased, 'I almost died. You nearly lost your chance of telling me. And now you're wasting time?'

She glared daggers, punched him on the shoulder, and everything was back to normal. 'That's not funny,'

'Right. Sorry. Bad joke,' he grinned. He rubbed her back as his heart seemed to turn slowly around in his chest. This felt warm and right. This was the tough, fierce Viking girl he had fallen for, and she was here with him, holding on to him like she would never let go. His dream was coming true in a way he had never dared hope. So this was what it felt like, to have the wish of an entire lifetime coming true. The world was sunnier, the sounds clearer; the very air seemed to _sing_; everything was vibrant and bright and beautiful, and the center of it all was Astrid.

'You were wrong, you know. I don't want a divorce,' Astrid said, voice muffled. 'You just… you make me happy,'

He made her happy. He had spent half his life trying to figure out what made her happy; and here was his answer. _He made her happy._ He wrapped his arms tighter around her and just breathed her in. She smelled like honeysuckle and fresh grass and the wind. His Astrid.

Then, just when he thought things couldn't get any better than this, she turned her head, brought her mouth close to his ear, and whispered three, very meaningful little words.

The last piece of his world clicked softly into place. And his heart was so full he couldn't speak. Instead, he dipped his head, and found her lips waiting.

He had been so afraid to ask her for anything, but now he found there was nothing he couldn't ask.

Toothless snorted in disgust and stalked off; but either of them cared.

Later, much later, Astrid snuggled back into his side.

'You should sleep,' he told her, 'You look like you haven't been sleeping well,'

'And whose fault was that?' she said, her eyes closed. She buried her face into his neck with a little sigh. The pull on his heart was immediate, and very sweet.

'Don't leave me alone,' she said.

He closed his eyes, kissed her head, and just clung. 'I'm not going anywhere,'

In his mind he thanked his father over and over for giving him the push in the right direction; hey, forcing him into marriage had turned out to be a great idea. The greatest. Apparently, parents did know what was best for their kids.

But it was still the one thing he would not subject his own children to.

And so he sat there, with the girl he loved and his best friend the Night Fury – who had returned now that the kissing session was over. And he thought of his father and his tribe and their new, scaly pets. In the words of Tuffnut Thorston, all was well in the world of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

Hey, if he were ever asked to tell his story, he already knew how to begin.

_It all started with a boy who was weak, and scrawny, and different; who then made a choice –the choice- of being just himself._

_**The End**_


End file.
